Ember
by strawberryTala
Summary: Yugo would never claim he was that great of a hunter, even if he'd argue against anyone who said he was terrible. He wasn't awful just, a bit too sentimental and not too keen on ripping into daemons and monsters the second he encountered them. So of course, when he runs into one of the most dangerous and powerful mythical beings known to man, injured and weak, he decides to save t
1. Meeting

'Hey Tala don't you have a multichap fic going on already?'

Yes, but if it's the only thing i work on, it's gonna be terrible and i'll probably hate it, which i definitely don't want to do.

Sooo dragons! And hunters, heckie yeah. Don't take me too seriously on my word usage for the monsters and stuff, i'm no expert and this is self indulgent. No idea how long this thing will be, I've got lots of stuff i wanna add though, some that wouldn't even fit this particular continuity, so we'll see what i'll eventually do with that :D

Btw, Yuya's dragon design is based on Odd Eyes Raging Dragon, except for the horns, thoose are more like Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon(they're not terribly big though)

* * *

"Just get out already."

The low hissing from the small vent near the floor increased in volume to near shrieking, the crackling sound of electricity along with it licking at the edges at the opening.

Yugo snickers, leaning back on a computer chair in the empty office they were in, legs propped up on a desk. "Points for trying?"

Kurosaki scowls at him, before looking back and glaring at the vent and looking very much like he'd want to just blow up the wall and be done with it. Yugo bet the only thing holding him back was that he'd have to pay for the repairs.

"This is ridiculous," he mutters, turning away with a huff. "How the hell did it even get in here? Aren't there protection charms here?"

"Seems someone accidentally ruined it and forgot to tell anyone before it was too late," Yuto says, sitting at another desk and giving his propped up legs a look. Yugo ignored him.

Kurosaki rubbed a finger against his temple. "Of course. And thanks to that, some sap ended up electrocuted and now we're stuck here trying to get it out."

"Electricity and metal doesn't exactly mix well for humans," he says offhandedly. Some guy sent to do maintenance on the ventilation ended up carted off in an ambulance after touching the metal. The end result was them being made to get the little monster out.

"Should we just fill the vents with fire? It'll take some work to set up, but it could work."

His swaying comes to an abrupt halt, head shooting up to look at the other two, frowning.

"Yeah, I don't see any other option." Yuto frowns, tapping his chin in thought. "I feel a little bad for it, but it can't stay here. More people can get hurt if we leave it any longer."

Yugo places his feet on the floor, leaning forward. "Hey hey, wait a second, we've barely tried getting it out! There's no need to kill it!"

"Do you have a better idea?" Kurosaki irritably asks, turning to him.

He wilts a little. "Well, no, but-"

Kurosaki turns away from him. "Then we'll go with fire, it's not like it will die because of it, we'll just get it out and then capture it." Yuto nods at his words, standing up.

"Yugo, you stay here and keep an eye on the thing." He gives him a meaningful look that just come off as condescending. "Don't do anything stupid while we're gone."

Yugo scowls at him, but doesn't say anything else, staying put as Kurosaki and Yuto go to get the things they need, quickly passing the small barrier they'd set up over the doorway. He really, really didn't like doing work with them, even less with both at the same time. Why couldn't Ruri have come instead of one of them? It was more tolerable when she was around.

He sits and sulk for a while, but eventually glance over at the vent. The hissing still continued, the little creature not able to go anywhere thanks to the way back being blocked.

Anger melts away as he remembers how the other two planned to burn the thing out.

He stands back up and walks over, the hissing increasing at his movement. Stopping about two meters away from the opening, he sits down cross legged on the floor, hands on his ankles. The hissing quiets down to growling.

Like this, he could almost make out the creature. It looked cat-like in shape, mouth drawn back in a snarl, long sharp teeth on full display, the two longer fangs making it look like a sabertooth cat, even if they weren't quite as long. Sharp claws dug into the metal underneath it, white sparks leaking out of it's tightly wrung body, bushy tail wrapped around itself.

Yugo felt his heart sink a little. Demon cat or not, it was clearly terrified. Every part of its body language signaling either fear or anger.

He leans down a little to meet the glowing eyes, holding the gaze. "You know, my so-called 'teammates' are gonna come back here and try a real unpleasant tactic to get you out."

The thing seems to curl in on itself further, hissing starting back up. Yugo wasn't sure what exactly he was trying to accomplish, but he wasn't about to sit and wait for the thing to be torched.

"And I really don't want to do that, honestly, but I don't have much of a leg to stand on against those assholes. So if you could, I don't know, get out of there before they get back, that'd be great."

His only response is more hissing and he sighs. Of course the thing didn't trust him and probably thought he would hurt or kill it the moment it went out.

"I won't hurt you," he says, voice soft. He puts his hands on the floor, in clear view. "I just want to get you out of here uninjured."

The vent goes silent, the sparks dying down. Nothing happens for almost a straight minute, until the sound of slow clicking starts as the little thing slowly, carefully comes into view.

Yugo barely dares to even breathe as it exits the vent. It really looked like a cat, if a slightly bigger type, it's yellow and white fur almost looking spiky. The tail had a sharp, jagged tip with what looked like tough scales instead of fur. It's bright green eyes was hyper focused on him, following every tiny movement he made.

He tried smiling reassuringly, even if it likely had no effect. "That's it... come on, I'm not scary." He slowly raises a hand, fingers loosely open.

The daemon stopped and stared cautiously at his hand, now within arms length, tail swishing behind it. Slowly it came closer to sniff at his fingers and the possibility of getting his fingers bitten by the large teeth it had passed his mind.

Then, the little creature carefully buffed up against his fingers. Yugo tried not to smile too much like a loon.

He slowly moved his hand up and gently rubbed it's head with two fingers, making the cat monster close its eyes contently and lean up against his hand as he switched to scratching. It moved to make his hand go to it's neck and Yugo let his grin form fully as he started to hear _purring._ It sounded a bit more static than that of normal cats, but the meaning behind it was still the same.

"You're actually a real cuddly one, huh?" he laughs as it flops over on it's side.

The moment was broken as pointy ears twitched and pupils narrowed into slits as it scrambled back onto it's legs. He jerks his hand back in surprise. "Woah! What's wrong?"

Then he heard the sound of voices and footsteps approaching from the doorway, signaling his 'teammates' return.

He muttered a curse. At least the little guy hadn't rushed back into the vent.

"Hey, hey, don't worry, I won't let them hurt you," he tried to make his voice sound reassuring, hands held in front of him. Green eyes shifted to him as he moved to his  
knees, making sure he wasn't leaning over the little monster.

Before he really thought it through, he opened his arms wide. "Come on, I'll get you outside. They can't hurt you if you're close to me."

Probably. Worst case scenario he'd kick them in the crotch if they tried something.

Green eyes stared cautiously at him, before it's owner turned into a small blur as it jumped at his chest.

"Woah!" He scrambled to grab a hold of it, one hand supporting its hind legs and the other wrapped around its body. He flinched as claws dug into him, but then it nuzzled it's head into his shoulder and he decided to forgive it this once.

He ran a hand through it's fur. "Give thea guy a warning at least," he says, trying to sound put off even as it gave a chirp in response.

"Hey, we're back, has anything… Yugo?" Yuto calls out, words turning confused at the end.

"Oh yeah," he says, turning around. "We're fine, was just about to let this guy out." He looks down at the bundle in his arms, who's body had turned tense at the other two. He runs his fingers carefully over it's fur in what he hopes is a reassuring gesture. "You might wanna keep your distance though, he doesn't like you two."

Kurosaki and Yuto stare wide-eyed at him, jaws hanging slightly open and if he takes just a bit more pleasure in seeing that than he should well, that's his business isn't it?

Though after a while he grows tired of them staring at him in silence and blinking, so he starts walking towards them at a careful pace, so the furriness in his arms won't get scared.

They finally snap out of it when he gets closer, Kurosaki taking a step back and glaring at the daemon in his arms. "Don't you dare come closer with that thing."

Yugo gives him an unimpressed look, stopping before he got closer. "Then move, I said I was getting him outside, didn't I?"

Yuto blinks in confusion. "He?"

Yugo pauses. "Oh yeah, I never checked." He looks down at the cat creature, who stared back at him with its wide eyes. "You got a preference?"

Silence met him, but he got the feeling it didn't care, so he went with that.

"Don't think he cares. So, you gonna move or what?" They do actually move, stepping back as he walks to the wall, pausing to rub at the runes making up the protective barrier with his shoulder. Thankfully he didn't need to worry about stains, praise enchanted clothing. When the faint blue sheen has disappeared, he walks through and down the hall, towards the stairs, the sound of two pair of footsteps following him from behind.

"When did you carry around calming brews?"

Yugo looks back at Yuto, confusion painted on his face. "What are you talking about?"

"How else did you make it so docile? It was ready to bite and shock us if we came any closer just minutes ago."

He tilts his head in thought, absently running his thumb back and forth against the fur. He didn't actually know why the cat decided to trust him, even letting itself be picked up. "Uh, I talked to him?"

Kurosaki gave him what was probably the flattest look he'd ever seen on the guys face. "Talked."

"Yeah?"

"And nothing else? No sedatives or anything?"

"Do I look like a potion seller to you?" He raised a dubious eyebrow at them, stopping in the hall. If they thought he was the type to carry around a bunch of elixirs and herbs then they needed to get their eyesight checked. Sure, he had some of it, but it was salves meant for light healing and pain relievers, nothing major like mood control.

"Definitely not." He frowns at Yuto's flat response. His voice turned more serious. "But how do you know it's still not dangerous? It's still a beast that could seriously hurt you."

Yugo stares flatly at them, then looking down at the bundle in his arms. Said scary monster was currently staring blankly back at the other two, tail swishing lazily back and forth. It's body was relaxed in his arms, leaning against his chest.

"Yeah, you got me there. It's so threatening, you'd think it was about to bite my arm off at any moment," he says flatly, turning on his heel and continuing to walk to the entrance.

"But still! Just because it's docile now doesn't mean it can't change at any moment!" Yuto says, running up behind him.

"Who is the one currently holding it? Plus he'll get mad if you keep yelling or scare him." He can see the door ahead. Just a little more and he can go home and won't have to spend any more time with these two today. "I'll just put him outside and we'll be done."

He hears Yuto give an exasperated sigh, but he ignores him. The guy worried too much over little things, seriously.

Finally reaching the door, he pushed it open with his shoulder, having to put his whole body weight to open the heavy door. He sucked in a deep breath of the fresh, wonderful air, the breeze feeling great on his skin. Spending hours in a stuffy office building wasn't what he would consider an enjoyable way to spend his Friday.

He skips down the stairs, instantly feeling energized again. Crouching down, he let's the daemon hop out of his arms, but to his surprise it didn't immediately run away, turning to him and sitting down, staring back at him.

"You better be grateful, I've spent about 4 hours tracking you down to get you out of there, so the least you could do is not get stuck in a building or something again. I may not be there to carry you out like damn royalty again if you do, you hear?"

Kurosaki's muttered 'oh my god he's actually talking to it' is heard, but resolutely ignored with a frown. As if he hadn't seen the guy soft talking to birds before. Damn hypocrite.

Green eyes stare at him for a little longer, before it rises to its hind legs, bumps it's forehead against his, making him let out a surprised noise, and walks off down the street.

He blinks dazedly at it, before smiling and rising to his feet. "You be careful now, you hear!"

It lets out a meow in response before running up a pole and disappearing into the power lines in a crackling flash.

"Now that that's finished, let's go home..." he trails off as he turns to Yuto and Kurosaki, finding them staring at him with matching disbelief over their faces. "What?"

He's met with silence, until Kurosaki lets out a loud sigh, rubbing his temple with two fingers. "How is he not dead yet?"

"Hey!"

"I'm not sure, Shun."

"I'm right here, you know?"

"And that's what we can't belive. How did you think that would ever turn out fine? You could have been shocked or bit at any second!" Yuto says, raising his voice just a little.

"Dude, it was trapped and scared and you two were planning to _burn it out_ of its hiding spot. Of course I'd try something else!" The two at least had the decency to look a little ashamed.

"Aaahh, whatever! It's fixed and done so I'm going home now!" He turns to walk down the street and make his way back home.

Or he would, if a hand hadn't grabbed the collar of his jacket from behind, pulling him backwards and making him stumble with a yelp.

"Oh no, _we_ are not explaining to Reiji what happened here. Since you took care of it in a frankly unsafe way, you can tell him." Kurosaki begins pulling him along, forcing him to walk backwards to not fall over.

"Seriously?! He'll only chew me out in that quiet, creepy way of his!"

"And that's why you're doing it." Yuto says, walking in front, or behind him, arms crossed and giving him a stern look that only pissed him off. His voice turns just a tad softer at his next words. "We work in groups for a reason, you know."

' _Yeah, but when the other two members look down on you and won't listen to anything you say, you start to not give a flying fuck what they think'_

Is what he wants to say, but he holds his tongue, settling for wrenching himself free from Kurosaki's grip and glaring at the ground, not looking at either of them for the rest of the trip.

He wondered when he would finally get to go home.

* * *

"Aaahhh! Finally free!" Yugo shouts to the night sky, throwing his arms out wide in a stretch.

It was a mystery how Reiji managed to be both long-winded and brief, but _man_ was it torturous to have to sit and have his eyes peeled on you and feel like a child who got caught doing something they weren't supposed to.

Though he was surprisingly lenient today, compared to other times. Mostly just asking questions, then pondering on his answers for ages and leaving him to sit and fidget, wondering if he said something wrong.

It was incredibly tiresome and thank god it was over.

His bike was sitting at home in the garage for some tuning, so he had to walk home. It was pretty far away, his house sitting on the outskirts of town and he could see big, dark clouds over the horizon, so with a small skip in his step, he started to hurry back.

Yugo loved his motorcycle, he really did, few things in the world could beat driving down the highway or on all types of roads, going further than you could on foot yet more exciting than being in a car. But walking was nice sometimes, the quiet was relaxing and the weather was perfect, at least so far, a light breeze making the trees rustle and the night air was fresh if a little cool on his bare skin.

Plus, getting to move his legs after sitting still for hours on end felt like a blessing.

"What should I eat when I get home?" he wonders out loud, stuffing his hands into his pockets. The scenery had changed completely into a sea of trees and bushes, the only sound being the occasional bug or animal and his footsteps. There's a rustling to his left he barely notices, stifling a yawn and trying to remember what he had in his fridge and cupboards.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts he didn't notice the rustling growing louder and closer, until a blurry shape jumped out from the darkness right towards him.

A scream catches in his throat as the thing hits him hard in the chest, claws prickling into his skin and making him stumble backwards and fall hard on his ass.

He didn't know what he expected when his hands fly up to grab whatever is stuck to his shirt, but soft yet firm fur probably wasn't it. When he looks down, familiar green eyes was staring at him.

The cat daemon from earlier lets out a meow, retracting his claws so they didn't stab tiny holes in his chest. His grip lighten up without him realising as he blinks stupidly at the thing currently sat in his lap.

"Well, nice to see you too, but can you not scare the shit out of me in the meantime?" His only response is a thrill, as it jumps off and starts pawing at his arm.

"What's up?" It paws at his pant leg as he stands gingerly back up, rubbing his aching behind. "Ow, ow, geez you're surprisingly effective as a projectile."

It yowls loudly again, making him startle and look down as it starts half-running back the way it came from, only to stop and look back at him before the road ends.

"What?" More meowing, growing in volume and sounding more and more distressed.

He frowns, the worry starting to set in. Taking a couple steps closer to the creature, he tries peering into the woods, but he can't make anything out. He looks back down. "Is something wrong?"

It's ambling around his legs, making little distressed noises before jumping through the bush, coming through the other side and looking back at him with a loud cry.

He perks up in realisation. "You want me to follow you?"

Another loud cry.

He frowns, knowing how very stupid it is to follow a monster of any kind into a dark, creepy forest. He could almost hear Yuto chewing him out in his head for even considering it.

But he had a bad feeling and the cat was still waiting for him, tail twitching anxiously, so he threw caution to the wind, took a ready stance, shoot forward and jumped over the bush.

Cat perked up and turned to run deeper into the forest, pausing now and then to look back and make sure he was keeping up. He had to walk carefully not to trip, fumbling with the keys in his pocket when he remembered he had a tiny flashlight on it, keeping it aimed to the ground to draw as little attention to the light as he could.

They walked for a little longer, the trees growing thicker and showing less and less sign of people having been here. He had to climb over fallen trees and up small hills of stone, then shimmy down small slopes.

"Yeah yeah, calm your tits, I'm trying not to break something here," he says to the yowling cat at the bottom of the hill. He'd tossed away the idea of trying to walk down and was sliding down on his ass instead, getting his pants dirty in the meantime. He'd take it over tripping and blacking out in what he felt was a very spiritually charged part of the forest.

"I sure hope you're not leading me to a party to get eaten," he says when he's reached the bottom, half-jokingly. His response is an irritated 'phrrpt' sound, before it turned around and continued on.

Yugo sighed, hurrying after. Hopefully the night wouldn't end with his liver being eaten from his still warm body.

He stepped through a bush with thorns that stuck through his pants. He got his face scratched by a branch, hopped over a big tree root sticking out of the ground, only to stop as the hairs on his arms raised and a shiver ran down his spine, but not from the cold. There was _something_ up ahead.

His little guide started slowing down, then stopping before an opening between the trees. Now that he wasn't paying attention to his feet, he could see a weak glow ahead.

His steps slowed down, only to stop completely as he now stood in front of a small clearing, with a small hill in the middle. Something was laying in a heap on top of it, making his legs lock up and brain screech to a halt.

The first thing he registered was the wings. They were half-folded in, thick scales covering the very top, then giving way to smoother looking sections, layered and folded like pointy dragonfly wings. What looked like small veins ran over them, the edges emitting a weak glow, colouring the trees and grass around it in a soft orange.

Then he noticed the tail, curled around the heap and covered in red and black scales, sharper ones covering the sides. What he guessed to be feet was curled up slightly, covered in scales with sharp claws it formed somewhat human looking feet, if not slightly larger than what would be considered normal.

He damn near had a heart attack when he realised it was _breathing_.

Somehow, it was that information that finally made him snap out of his stupor and walk closer. The nearer he got, the more he could make out, the scales continued up it's arms and body. Carefully he stepped around and over the limbs splayed out on the grass, finally coming to a stop in front of the scaly heap. He could see a head of messy red and green hair now, bone-coloured horns sitting on top.

That was around the time he could swear his heart actually stopped.

"What the hell?!" he hissed silently, stumbling back.

Because what was laying on a tiny hill in a forest not far from a city and the headquarters of Hunters he worked with, was a _fucking dragon._

He had to remember to breathe properly and rub his eyes just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He even pinched his cheek as hard as he could.

But it was still there.

What the hell was a dragon doing here?! Didn't they usually live miles and miles from populated areas?! In giant mountains or old forests and stuff like that?!

' _Oh god what do I do, I can't handle a dragon by myself, do I call for backup? But it's not doing anything, but what the hell is it even doing here, it would be seen from miles away in it's large form and why is it in human form anyway?! Oh shit isn't the ones who can change into a human shape like, really freaking dangerous?'_

His panicked mental rambling cuts off abruptly as he heard a groan. From the dragon.

Now that he was properly paying attention, he could hear the raspy, pained breathing. And the faint smell of blood that he couldn't believe he hadn't caught earlier.

…...Was it hurt?

Swallowing back his panic, he carefully walked closer, going down on his knees to inch the rest of the way, putting his little flashlight down on the grass, pointing it away from the dragon. This close, he could almost make out it's face where it was partially hidden behind scaly arms, twisted in discomfort and pain.

Yugo bit his lip, doing his best to look him(?) over. There was what looked like a deep gash in one leg, dried blood hiding it from proper view, a similar wound on it's side that was still bleeding slightly and….

He flinched as he saw what looked like a spike buried in the shoulder. A scaly and clawed hand was holding onto that arm so he couldn't see it very well, but it looked bad and it was still bleeding a little.

Okay, he had some vague idea what happened now. He got attacked, got hurt pretty badly, landed here to maybe recover or hide.

Yugo's heart twisted as the dragon let out another pained groan, trying to curl into itself only to flinch as the wounds moved into a bad angle.

Did he have anything to stop the blood? He patted himself absently, trying to think quick. His motorcycle jacket wasn't exactly made to absorb liquid, so….

Fingers stopped on the material of his shirt.

...Well, not like he had anything else on hand.

He pulled off his jacket and, feeling just a little weird, pulled off his shirt underneath.

At least now he could add 'stripped off shirt in a dark forest in front of a dragon' to his list of weird shit he's done in his life. If he lived to tell someone that is, but he tried not to think about that too hard. He did pull his jacket back on so he didn't feel quite so exposed, the chilly night air raising goosebumps on his bare skin, but it was better than nothing.

Taking out his pocket knife, he gave his shirt a silent apology and proceeded to cut holes in the long sleeves and ripped them off, then did the same down the front, ripping it in half. He put the knife away, figuring it was probably not the best to have out in the open should the dragon wake up.

The shoulder definitely needed immediate attention, but he started with trying to carefully wipe away the blood in the side. It wasn't as deep a wound as it looked, but it may need stitches. He settled for laying the fabric over it for now, to keep out germs and hopefully stop the blood at least a little.

A look over the gash in his leg didn't tell him much, but he tied the sleeves around the leg and over the wound tightly. He got barely more than a flinch in response.

Now, the shoulder.

Taking a deep breath, he carefully reached forward a hand to move the scaled one away from the injured shoulder. It was… warm, and almost smooth under his fingers as he slowly pulled it away and he was almost reluctant to let go, leaving it resting on the grass.

He swore under his breath as he got a good look at the wound. Blood ran in small trickles from it, the flesh and skin looking like it was charred and torn up from the hit. It was when he was look that he realised with a jolt that the spike had runes carved into it, pulsing so faintly he could barely make them out.

Well, no wonder the dragon didn't wake up when he was poking around its body and moving it's limbs. What he could make out told him enough, the spike obviously made to keep the dragon hurt and weak. It made his chest twist in anger.

His breath got caught in his throat as another groan was let out. But the dragon didn't calm back down, finally stirring awake and Yugo was as still as a statue.

Eyelids twitched, dragging themselves open halfway to reveal bright, ruby red eyes, unfocused and dazed. They flicked slowly here and there and as they moved to him, he felt pinned in place by pools of crimson, broken up by dilated pupils that quickly turned into slits as it registered his presence.

Lips pulled back into a snarl, exposing sharp teeth as a deep growl rose from his throat. Scaled body tensed up and tried to move, only to flinch as his wounds jostled and the wound on his side and leg opened up, fresh blood staining the blue fabric of his former shirt.

"Aah! Don't move, you'll make it worse!" he said without thinking, moving to press down on the wound in his side, making the dragon let out a strangled sound and squirm in pain, only to let out another whine, going still again.

"Man, I don't know what happened to you, but it's not pretty. And I've seen some bad wounds in my life, trust me on this. Not on a dragon though, that's a new one," he's rambling, but it's the only thing keeping his head clear right now so he'll take it.

More growling. This time, definitely more threatening, but the dragon didn't seem to be able to do much more than lie there. Yugo frowns, removing his hands when the blood flow trickled out and moved back to meet red eyes.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," he says, voice soft, hoping it didn't come off as condescending. "I know you probably don't believe that, but I seriously, honestly won't. I want to help, if you'll let me."

Holding the sharp, fiery gaze was hard, even when they were clouded over in pain, but he refused to budge. The dragon stared unblinking up at him and it felt like it was looking deep into his soul for, something, but he wasn't sure what.

After what felt like ages, the body on the grass relaxed, if only a little and it let out a huff, head falling back on the grass with a wince.

Yugo took it as an okay sign, smiling in gratitude before turning back to his side. The wound didn't seem to have gotten worse when he lifted the fabric, so he pulled it around his middle and made a thin cover for the time being, mumbling a quick 'sorry!' when the dragon flinched as the tightened the knot.

He gave the spike in the shoulder an uneasy look, meeting the red eyes that had never left him, but they sharpened when he saw where he was looking.

"Listen uh, I'm gonna need to pull this out." He points to said object, making sure not to touch it. "It's probably what's keeping you so weak, but I have to know you won't gut me if I try or after it's out, cause it's gonna hurt like a bitch, I bet."

Brows furrowed, but he saw his teeth clench as he gave sharp nod.

Yugo licked his lips nervously, edging closer, hands hovering in the air as he tried working out how to best do this. He settled for placing a hand on a scaly arm, the other grabbing the spike in a proper grip. Bracing his leg against the ground, he met the dragon's eyes. "On three?" He nods.

"One…" He digs his foot into the ground so he wouldn't slip.

"Two…" The dragon clench it's teeth, clawed fingers digging into the earth. Yugo sucks in a deep breath and holds it.

"Three!"

He pulls hard, a choked roar tears it's way from the dragon as the spike is pulled out _halfway_ , his hands slipping off the bloody object as he tumble back with a yelp.

The dragon is letting out pained screechs, grabbing at the now glowing spike still stuck in his shoulder, but his hands were shaking and he kept missing, not helped with his thrashing around. Small tears are squeezed out from his clenched shut eyes and _oh god he fucked up so badly._

"Shit, shit shit shit-" Yugo hiss, scrambling forward and trying to push down the rising panic in his chest, not helped by the pained cries echoing around the clearing. He yanks away the clawed hand, grabs hold of the spike again and finally pulls it out fully with a last hard tug.

He falls back hard on his ass for the second time today, panting and heart going a mile a minute, grip around the spike tight enough for his fingers to turn white. The sight of blood gushing from the wound made him drop it, scramble to grab the last bit of his shirt and press the fabric hard against the wound to stop the blood. His eyes are stinging and it's a bit hard to see and this was not the _time,_ damnit.

"Shit, shit, _fuck_ I'm _so_ sorry, my damn hand slipped off, man that has got to hurt like hell, goddamnit," he's rambling again despite his throat feeling so tight and he's breathing hard and his hands are shaking and this is the reason he isn't a healer, for fucks sake why was he the guy to come across a hurt dragon?!

Said dragon is panting hard, body tense, but it's eyes are still sharp and staring right at him, brow furrowed.

"The hell are you looking at?" he says without thinking, only to cringe as soon as the words left his mouth. Would rudeness be enough to get him gutted at this point?

Red eyes only blink at him, a stupefied look on his face, mouth parted slightly.

"Why," the words are interrupted by coughing, but it startled him all the same. It was the first proper words he'd heard from the dragon.

"Why are you… crying?"

Yugo blinks, feeling dumbfounded and wondering what the hell he was talking about. The cut he had forgotten about stings, something he hadn't even noticed. He raises a bloody hand to touch his face, finding it wet and warm as some stray tears run down his cheeks and land on his lap, which also had blood on it.

He's crying. Of course he is.

Sniffling, he rubbed roughly at his eyes as well as he could with his still clean wrists, embarrassment clawing at his insides. The other seemed to want an answer however, still staring at him like he had two heads.

"Dunno, honestly," he replies, looking down at him and going back to pressing down on the wound. "You sounded like you were in a lot of pain and the spike thing kinda scared the shit out of me, so I guess that's why."

He blinks at him, still looking very confused, but he resolutely ignore it and turns back to the shoulder, gingerly lifting the fabric to look at the small hole, trying to wipe away some of the blood to see it better. The spike hadn't been particularly large, but it was still a hole in a body and should be treated as such.

The blood had almost stopped and he watched in fascination as the skin and flesh slowly, slowly started knitting itself back together. It still looked like it hurt alot, if only going by how the dragon had barely moved his position. Wasn't there something he could do...?

Yugo could have damn well smacked himself when he remembered the small pouches on his belt and the content of one in particular.

"Oh for fuck's sake," he cursed to himself, startling the dragon without noticing as he quickly fumbled for the clasp on one of the tiny bags at his waist, taking out a small jar. He unscrewed the lid and the scent of herbs and medicine floated up, making his nose wrinkle. But it was effective, relieving pain and helping with healing, at least a little.

Looking back up, he met bright red eyes staring intently at him, causing goosebumps to raise on his skin. Suspicious he would do something? Or had the creature noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt under his jacket?

…Was it dangerous for dragons? He knew some medicines was bad for humans for various reasons, but was it the same for giant lizard monsters?

"You got any allergies or anything?" The dragon hadn't said a word much so far, but he figured he could ask.

Slit eyes narrowed suspiciously at the small jar, body tensing up again.

"Woah whoa! It's not poison or anything! It's for helping with pain and healing!" he hurriedly says, waving his hands. "Look, I'll take some too." He wipes his hand on his pants, puts some on his fingertip and smears it on the cut on his cheek. It wasn't something he'd normally use the salve on, but he needed to prove a point here.

"See? Nothing dangerous."

His mouth was still drawn in a small snarl, but eventually he gave a nod. Yugo smiled, removed the damp fabric and started to carefully dab the salve around the wound, figuring it probably wasn't a good idea to go poking around inside with his fingers. "Tell me if it hurts."

The sigh he got as a response seemed to be enough, the dragon slowly relaxing and breathing in and out. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the red and black tail start twitching and the big wings making small folding and unfolding motions. Probably stiff from being still for so long. He paused when he noticed his nose was wrinkled and twitching and he couldn't help but laugh at how peeved he looked.

"Doesn't smell very good, does it?" he snickers, laughing more when the sour look was directed at him. "I actually like the smell of herbs, when it's not too strong, but the medicinal smell I can do without. I've been told that when it smells or taste bad, that means it works, but it always sounded like a lousy excuse to me. Why not put a little more extra effort to make it taste or smell nice so it's not such a pain to take?"

No response, but that was fine, he was weirdly starting to get used to having his red eyes just staring at him quietly. Or that was what he thought, until little chuckles came from the dragon and he realised with a jolt he was _laughing._ It may have been at him but Yugo frankly didn't care, mouth stretching into a smile at the sound and the small smile on the creatures face.

"I'm Yugo by the way," he says, putting the lid back on the jar and putting it away again. He was about to say something else, but startled when the dragon started carefully pushing himself into a sitting position.

"Woah! Watch it!" He reached out without thinking to help keep him steady, the scales and skin warm under his hands but he shook off _that_ thought quickly. It clearly hurt but somehow he got up in a sitting position, coughing and letting out a big gust of air and smoke, making his eyes widen.

"...Neat."

The dragon gives him a glance, one eyebrow raised. Now that he was sitting up, they were eye to eye for the first time, and they seemed to be about the same height, which was a bit confusing for his brain, since 'big' was among the first things you thought when thinking about dragons. His hair fell down around his head in long spikes, a spot of blood near his temple making hair stick to it. Hands reached up and touched… goggles? Was that a pair of goggles sitting on its head in front of the horns?

The dragon removed them from atop his head, looking woefully at them. One lens had a blue star on it while the other was cracked. A clawed finger ran over the cracks carefully, red eyes turning so _sad_ it nearly broke Yugo's heart.

Carefully, he raised his hands, making the other snap their attention back to him as he moved, hands tightening carefully over the goggles as he reached for them, lips pulling back in a small snarl.

Yugo didn't touch them though, instead he took hold of the dragons hands, pulling them towards himself and scrutinized the eyewear, moving the others hands here and there to see the damage better. It looked like only the lens was damaged, the metal around it undamaged and in good condition.

"I think I can fix this," he says, jostling the hand on the side of the damaged lens and making red eyes snap up to him, wide. Yugo smiled at him. "Just need to replace the glass and they'll be good as new. If you'll let me, that is."

He stares unblinking and disbelieving at him for a long moment, before nodding quickly, looking down at the eyewear with such relief and happiness you'd think he cared more about the goggles than his own wounds.

Red eyes blinked and he wondered for a second what was up, until he felt something brush over his fingers, making him look down as well. Clawed fingers were curiously brushing over his skin, leaving a tingling feeling in their wake. The hands were warm and a little rough, the top of his hands sprinkled with small red and black scales. Smooth fingertips ran over his knuckles, the side of his fingers, up his hands, stopping at a small scar on his little finger. It ran in a crooked line down the side of his hand, thin and white from age, back when he first tried out using tools and didn't always use gloves.

Yugo could feel his face heating up, his heart doing flips in his chest and _oh god what is happening?_

The dragon's nostrils flared, eyes closing and sniffing, leaning towards him slightly and making him tense up a little. The smell of smoke and blood made his nose tickle, with something else hidden behind it.

"Uh, dude, personal space?" he says, embarrassed by the close proximity, their faces inches apart now and their hands still touching over the goggles. The dragon was warm and nice in the cold night air and made him remember he wasn't wearing a shirt under his jacket, only increasing his embarrassment.

Red eyes widened before he quickly leaned back and either his eyes were playing with him or he was _flustered_. Yugo didn't even know that was a thing dragons could get, then again he's never met one.

"Sorry," he says, pulling the eyewear back and putting it back on his head. He's momentarily distracted by the flash of fangs in his mouth, but he shakes it off.

"It's cool. Anyway, we should-" he's interrupted by a guttural growl from the dragon, making him jump as he whirls in one direction, pupils narrowing into slits, tail was twitching on the ground. He raises his hands in a calming gesture. "Woah woah what's wrong?"

He growls. "Someone's here."

"Huh?"

"Not close, but coming near, lots of enhanced weapons."

Oh, shit. Of course his descent didn't go unnoticed, of course people would go looking for him.

He startles back to awareness when the dragon starts to stand, teeth clenched and shaking slightly. He didn't get far until he collapsed on the ground again, breathing hard with his arms braced against the grass.

"Hey, be careful! You're definitely not fit to walk around, that spike thingy was pretty damn strong!" he says, his hand finding a place on the others shoulder.

"Have to… leave before, they find me… again," he forces out, body tense and eyes half-lidded, claws digging into the ground.

"Then wanna come with me?"

Red eyes snap up at him in shock. Even he felt surprised, the words had just slipped out without thinking, but he wasn't about to back out now. The guy was hurt and apparently pursued, he wasn't about to just leave him out here if he could help it.

"I live pretty secluded, and there's protective charms and a barrier around the grounds to keep out threats and make it almost impossible to find. It should be safe until you're all healed up."

Plus he wasn't in nearly good enough condition to fight off groups of people, especially if they had weapons. It would take some time before the after effect of the runes wore off and he had no idea how long it had been stuck in him.

The dragon looks at him like he's crazy, clearly hesitating on whether to trust him this much. But he didn't have much of a choice if he didn't want the people to eventually find him, or even worse, die. It wasn't the best situation and Yugo felt a little bad about it. He didn't want to be trusted just because it was the only option.

He tries smiling reassuringly, but it probably came off as awkward. "I won't stop you if you want to leave earlier, but let me patch you up first at least, ok?"

"...Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why would you go so far? You've already done so much for me, you should know how easily I could hurt you." A sad look pass over his face, as a scaled hand reach up to his sternum, bending his fingers so claws lightly touched the bare skin. "You have no reason to trust me, much less welcome me into your home. You have no reason to believe I won't hurt you."

"You haven't though."

He pause, looking at him in confusion. "What?"

Yugo reaches for the hand resting against his chest, grasping it with his own. "You've had a lot of chances to tear my throat out or whack me with your tail, but you haven't. Hell, you've had more than enough reason to, I haven't exactly been an incredible healer here," he laughs and the dragon cracks a small smile, which he considers a win.

"So like, I don't see why you would hurt me later, not like you can right now anyway, or for a while longer. So I'll trust in that you won't tear my throat out later, and you'll trust that I won't pull anything. Sounds good?"

Red eyes stare at him for a long time, before the hand in his grasp squeeze back and a smile form on his lips. "Ok, I'll trust you, for now at least."

He grins. "That's how it's gotta be, right?"

Something occurs to him as he helps the dragon sit back up again, poking up it's head when he's pocketing his keychain and turning off the flashlight. "Hey, what's your name?"

The other looks surprised for a second, before he smiles again. "I'm Yuya."

A snicker comes from him. "What a normal sounding name for a dragon!"

"I like my name, thank you very much." Yuya pouts at him and the sight is so odd it makes him laugh more.

"Anyway, it doesn't seem like you can walk…" he says, thinking. He could support his side, but all the major injuries were on the same side of his body. "Maybe I can carry you on my back?"

Yuya gives him a hesitant look, glancing over him quickly. "You sure? I'm not light." His wings and tail move to emphasize his words. "You think you can handle it?"

Yugo frowns at him, feeling almost offended. "Excuse you, I'm not that weak! I can carry your scaly ass no problem, now get on my back already."

He cracks an amused smile, but doesn't say anything else as he carefully shifts to his back after he's turned to him. It took some grappling and panicked stopping when he hears grunts of pain behind him, but he managed to get Yuya up on his back, arms holding onto his legs.

' _Shit he wasn't joking,'_ he thought, feeling his muscles strain. But he wasn't about to let the dragon know about that, so he bit through it and stood straight.

"Which way?" Yuya asked, voice _right next_ to his ear, making him shiver, not helped by the warmth that was now encasing his whole back, a stark contrast to his front. The area at his waist that wasn't covered by his jacket rubbed up against the mix of bare skin and scales. He shook off any thoughts about _that_ , it was seriously not the time!

"Right, right, home. Where do we…?" his mumbles go interrupted by a meow, and when he looked in the direction of the noise, the cat that had led him here was sitting some ways away, looking at them.

"Hey! I wondered where you had wandered off to," he says, smiling. The cat makes a small noise in response, before walking to an opening between some thick bushes he hadn't even noticed, looking back at them expectantly.

"You want me to follow you again?" Another meow. "You know I need to go home right? You even know where I live?"

Another sound and a swish of his tail was his response, before it started walking down the path.

"Well, best to follow, not like I know where the hell we are anyway," he says and starts walking, being careful of his balance and footing. Falling now would be a serious pain in the ass.

"You doing okay back there?"

No response. When he looks back, he saw Yuya's eyes were closed, mouth hanging slightly open and breathing deeply on his shoulder. He looked more relaxed than when he had found him earlier, thankfully.

Yugo smiled at the sight. Tightening his grip so he wouldn't drop him, he continued down the path. His muscles would hate him tomorrow, probably his whole body with how late it was and how he hadn't eaten yet, but somehow he didn't mind.

Yuya let out an incoherent mumble in his sleep, the arms around his shoulders tightening slightly before loosing up again.

He didn't know what he'd gotten himself into, stumbling onto a hurt dragon and saving them, but he couldn't imagine himself doing anything else.


	2. Budding

Aaahhhh we're finally at chapter 2! This did take a pretty long time, but this story isn't one I'm gonna update that regularly, though I'm gonna try my best to not let it go toooo long between updates ^^;  
Hope you'll enjoy it anyway! If you liked it and could take the time and tell me what you thought, I'd be very happy!

* * *

Yugo woke up with a start, body jerking awake abruptly despite still being in the same position. His head felt heavy, struggling to wake up properly and his body was sluggish and stiff when he shifted, wondering groggily if he could fall back asleep. Somehow his sheets didn't feel as soft as they usually did...

A shiver ran through his body. He felt cold. Had he kicked the covers to the floor again? Sometimes when he had weird dreams he could move around in his sleep a lot. He can't remember what he dreamed about, only that it involved blood, runes floating in front of his eyes and the smell of smoke clogging up his nose with fire licking at his body, just on the verge of being burning.

Peeling open his crusty eyes was a challenge with how bright the room was to his poor eyes, but he managed somehow. He made out a table in front of him that was most definitely not in his bedroom and the fabric of his well used two-seat couch.

...He was in the living room?

Sluggishly sitting up, he stretched his poor, stiff limbs as his head slowly whirr back to the land of the living as he notices several things at once. He was still in the clothes he wore yesterday, still no shirt, feeling gross and tired despite sleeping like a rock. He guessed it was around twelve from the sunlight coming from the windows, piercing painfully into his eyes.

...Why was he in the living room again?

The answer stood out like a burned down house in a nice neighbourhood when he looked over to the other couch.

Their back was turned to him but it was hard to miss the tail and large wings spread over his floor.

' _Oooh right, that happened,'_ he thought, running a hand through his tousled hair.

Yuya was still sleeping, chest moving with his deep breathing, tail and wings twitching every now and then. His goggles were still on his head, having refused to remove them even half-unconscious and he didn't want to risk doing it himself.

The memories from last night were starting to come back now that he was awake. He'd managed to carry the dragon back to his house and get him on the couch he was still occupying, before seeing to his wounds. The enhanced healing had done a lot of the work, but it still needed cleaning and bandaging. At least he didn't need to stitch his side as he first thought.

Yuya had barely stirred, only coming to when he was cleaning the hole in his shoulder. But he had only mumbled something unintelligible before passing out again. It had taken at least an hour and by the time he was done, it was well after midnight.

He'd pulled a blanket over him before staggering over to the other couch and collapsing on it. He'd only meant to sit down for a little but had promptly passed out when he laid down. He hadn't even changed or eaten anything.

Which led him to now. Sore, hungry and in desperate need of a shower, blood and sweat caked into the clothes he'd fallen asleep in. He glanced over at Yuya. It didn't seem like he would wake up for a while, he could leave him alone for a little, right? Plus he'd hear the shower running if he did wake up and know where he was.

So as much as the gnawing in his stomach demanded his attention, he stumbled to his feet to go take a shower. He was sweaty and chilly and warm water and fresh clothes called to him.

"Shit-!" he almost shouted before catching himself as he tripped on a scaly tail.

Hopping and stumbling forward, he was almost proud of himself for not falling directly on his face, even if it made his toes hurt. Mumbling from behind made him freeze and hold his breath.

Looking back slowly, Yuya continued snoring away, tail only twitching slightly in response to being more or less kicked by his foot. He almost felt offended, but the relief that he hadn't woken up was stronger. The tail brushed up against his leg and he backed off quickly less he would actually fall smack to the floor this time.

Trying to keep quiet, somewhat failing thanks to his creaky stairs, he ambled up to the second floor and into the bathroom to start the shower. Peeling off his clothes was a challenge and he almost fell more than once, but he managed without any getting any concussions and stepped into the shower.

"Aaah, I'm back to life again," he groans, just standing under the stream for a moment. The warm water was a godsend on his poor muscles and scrubbing himself clean was wonderful. Getting rid of the grease in his hair never stopped being nice.

Eventually, he got out and after drying off and securing the towel around his waist, went off in search for clothes in the bedroom.

It was messy, but an organised kind of messy. He knew this or that knick-knack was in that particular pile or drawer, he just didn't know where exactly. Dirty laundry was spread on the floor(he needed to do laundry soon) and clothes spilled out of his closet after just being shoved in when he felt lazy. The shelves and bookcases were spilling over with paper and notebooks and trinkets. The bed was still unmade from yesterday when he'd overslept and the window curtains were drawn back, sunlight spilling in from the outside.

After digging out a pair of pants, a shirt, and underwear from his closet and pulling them on, he finally made his way back downstairs.

Yuya had barely moved, his tail only having shifted slightly where it laid on the floor. He carefully stepped over it, hoping it wouldn't suddenly move and trip him again, and did a quick once-over of his bandages. There were some bloody patches at the shoulder, but he almost expected that. They'd need to change it after he woke up and got it clean.

His stomach growled loudly, breaking the silence.

"First, breakfast," he says out loud to himself, rubbing his aching stomach and making his way to the kitchen. He stared at his fridge and cupboards in thought for about two minutes before he decided, getting out a mixing bowl and a pan.

He couldn't think of something better to offer wounded guests for breakfast than pancakes.

* * *

There was a sizeable stack on a plate by the time he heard rustling from the living room. He figured he'd wait until the dragon got up and walked over, the smell was impossible to miss after all.

That thought was quickly forgotten when there were two loud bangs followed by frantic tousling, making him drop the spatula onto the counter with a clatter in surprise before running to the doorway.

Yuya laid in a heap on the floor, looking to be wrestling frantically with the blanket. Tails and wings were floundering and flapping all over in a panic, the couch having been pushed askew and the coffee table had been toppled over on its side.

"Hey, hey! Yuya!" he shouts, jogging forward to help, trying his best to not get smacked by his flailing appendages. "It's just a blanket, calm down- woah!"

He gets cut off as for second time today as that stupid tail slams hard into his leg, catching him off-guard so he can't catch himself and thus goes down like a rock.

Landing right on top of a clearly panicked dragon.

When he hears the roar he almost thinks this is it, he's about to either be torn to shreds or eaten. Hands shoot out to grab him, claws digging into him as he's rolled over before he can even utter an 'ow!'. The room spins as he's roughly rolled over onto his back and pressed down hard against the floor.

Yuya is panting hard when he looks up, pupils only two hard slits in his almost glowing red eyes and his lips pulled back in a snarl, big, sharp fangs on full display.

He looks angry, but there were fear and panic swimming in his eyes and it made his stomach twist. They weren't focused on anything, hazy and not looking directly at him.

"Hey, dude," he says, gently patting one of the scaly arms pinning him to the floor. He ignored the pain for now and tried to smile reassuringly. "It's just me, no need to freak out. I'm not gonna hurt you, remember?"

Yuya stops, eyes slowly focusing on him as they widen in recognition and then confusion. Eyes flick over his face, then to his arms and hands still holding him down as he starts blinking rapidly. "...Yugo?"

He grins up at him. "Yeah, all awake now?"

A slow nod, shifting so he wasn't holding him against the floor, but he didn't get off. He doesn't know how to feel about the weirdly intense stare he's getting. His stomach twists for an entirely different reason when Yuya's eyes turn a little hazy and half-lidded. He stiffens when he leans down, nose twitching as he sniffs the air between them like the night before. His wings move and fold a little over them, a soft orange glow coming from them and while he can't see it, he thinks he can hear his tail moving on the floor. The room feels weirdly hot all of a sudden.

He freezes up when he sees Yuya's mouth part slightly, sharp teeth peeking out as he starts leaning in even closer...

"I'm not tasty!" Yugo shrieks, arms flying up to protect his throat and chest

Yuya jerks back, looking down at him with wide eyes. "Eh?"

"I'm bony and stringy as hell! And there will probably be an aftertaste of metal and ore and other weird stuff I work with all day!"

Yuya blinks before turning wide-eyed and flustered. "No, I wasn't-! I'm not, I'm not gonna eat you!" He says in alarm, trying to quickly move off him but ends up tumbling down onto the floor with a smack, legs still tangled up in the blanket. "Ow…"

Yugo blinks, looking over at Yuya, now on his side next to him. His whine and face, such an abrupt change from just seconds before, makes surprised laughter burst out from him. Yuya looks at him with an annoyed look, brows furrowed and what he could almost call a pout on his mouth. It almost made him laugh even more, but he bit his lip to hold it back.

"Hold on, I'll help you out," he says through his giggles, sitting up and scooting over now that Yuya wasn't looking like he wanted to take a chunk out of him. He'd done a real job on the poor blanket, stretched tight around his lower body and covered with claw marks and holes.

It took some work and Yuya needed to adjust his weight on the floor a lot, but soon his legs were freed. He held up the poor blanket as Yuya looked at with guilty eyes. "Um, sorry for ruining your blanket."

"Eh, it's fine, I have more," he says, throwing it on the couch. He felt a little bad throwing it away, but the other didn't need to know that.

"But…" Yuya sounds way too timid when he's taking up about three people's worth of space, wings splayed behind him and tail curled over the floor.

"It's fine! Don't worry about it!" he says loudly, making the dragon jump, eyes widening before they narrow in thought and he starts sniffing the air. "Is something burning…?"

Yugo freezes up, the smell finally hitting him as well.

"Shit!" he curses, flying up from the floor and running to the kitchen. He slammed his shoulder in the doorway on the way with an 'ow!' on the way to the stove, where a smoking pile of a burned pancake laid. He fumbles with the knobs to lower the temperature and moved the pan off to the side, waving away the smoke.

"Aaaw man, what a waste…" he mumbles to himself, digging the black heap out of the pan with the spatula, tossing it in the trash under the sink and shutting the door with his foot. He puts the pan back in place, turning the heat back up and put in some butter to make the rest of the batch.

An odd sound behind him makes him whirl around, tensing up until he meets startled red eyes and remembers, oh yeah, he has a dragon guest. Kinda forgot in the rush.

Yuya stands frozen in the doorway to the kitchen, looking hesitant to enter until he relaxes a little and shuffles forward. The odd sound turns out to be his feet hitting the ground, which made sense, seeing as they're not fully normal feet, more scaly and jagged. His wings are tucked tight against his back, tail hovering above the ground in a small arch as he walks. It lays down on the floor when he comes to a stop next to him, peering curiously over his shoulder.

"What are you making?"

He smiles wide, turning back when the butter stops sizzling and pours in new batter. "Pancakes!" Something occurs to him and makes him turn back to stare unsure at his guest. "You, do like them right? I just kinda assumed..."

Yuya is staring at the pan, then at the already made stack with wide, shining eyes, tail making small wagging motions on the floor. "...I love them."

Yugo sighs in relief, flipping the pancake and showing off the golden brown colour on the other side. Yuya is still standing at his side, staring at the pan with barely masked hunger in his eyes. His laughter makes him snap out of his trance and look at him, startled. "Huh? What?"

"You really hungry or what?" Yuya flushes just a little before averting his eyes, huffing.

"...Healing injuries take a lot of energy if I don't sleep through all of it, but that takes longer," he says, perturbed.

"Ooh, yeah, that makes sense," he says mostly to himself, putting another finished pancake on the plate. He gives the dragon a side-look, taking in the slightly matted hair and dried blood.

He glances over him in thought, giving the wings a longer look. They weren't as big as yesterday, weirdly enough. The orange, almost membrane looking parts were smaller and not quite as glowy.

"Would you fit in the shower…?" he wonders out loud, staring at the wings.

Yuya gives him a puzzled look before also looking at the appendages on his back. "I, don't know? If it's not really cramped, then maybe…?"

"It's not that small." At least he didn't think so, but then again he didn't have wings and a tail. He turns back to the stove "It'll be a while before these are done, so wanna go wash off? You look kinda gross, not gonna lie."

"Gee, thanks." Yuya sounds put off but there's a humorous smile pulling at his mouth. He looks down at himself dubiously, wings making small folding and unfolding motions as his arms crossed over his chest. "I'd love to wash off, though, if it's okay."

He grins. "'Course! It's on the second floor, towels are in there as well so just take one from the cupboards."

"Ok. Also uh," Yuya's smile turns a little embarrassed, claw scratching at the scales on his neck, shifting in place. "You mind if I borrow a pair of pants?"

Yugo blinks, looking down and only just realising the dragon was, technically, naked. There was nothing hanging out though, he didn't even have nipples and wasn't that a weird thought? But dragons were born from eggs so why would they have any? Though he didn't know if it was different for humanoid types.

The realisation still made heat creep up his neck, quickly turning back to the pan and putting another finished pancake on the plate. "What, you don't always go around butt-naked?"

Yuya lets out a small laugh. "I'd rather not. I don't get cold exactly, but if I get the choice I'd definitely wear clothes. Though pants are easier than shirts." His wings twitch a little as if in response.

"We could cut holes in one of mine if you want?"

Yuya's eyes widened. "Really? I mean, it's not a problem, honestly!

"It's no big deal. There are some scissors in a drawer in the bathroom, just take a shirt from my room."

Red eyes were looking at him with a mix of bafflement and gratitude, and it was weird. "O-ok, thanks!"

He waves it off, grinning. "Bathroom and my bedroom are on the second floor."

Yuya nods, disappearing around the corner and up the stairs. He hears the sound of the shower starting up and what he thinks is the dragon's wings smacking into stuff on the way, coupled with muffled curses.

Yugo snickers to himself, flipping a pancake in the pan. His home felt livelier already.

* * *

He was just finishing up the last of the batter when the sound of Yuya's footsteps shuffled down the stairs. He twisted to look as he appeared at the doorway again, hair damp and wearing one of his baggier pair of pants and a red t-shirt he hadn't seen in ages. He looked a lot more relaxed compared to before. "Went alright?"

"Yeah," he sighed out happily. He glanced around the kitchen, fidgeting a little where he stood. "Can I help with anything?"

"Oh, yeah! You can set the table, put it on the coffee table in the living room." He pointed at several cupboards and drawers, listing their contents. "There are plates, over there are glasses and over there are forks and knives."

Yuya hurried forward to get everything out, before disappearing into the living room again. The sound of the coffee table being set straight reminded him the dragon had accidentally knocked it over earlier. He'd had to check it wasn't damaged later.

After the last pancake had been placed on the plate and he'd picked up syrup and sugar, he walked carefully towards the living room, making sure not to drop anything. He was not in the mood to clean up the mess a bottle full of spilt syrup would cause.

He had to hold back laughter at the badly hidden eagerness in Yuya's eyes as he walked over to their makeshift table, red eyes fixed on the plate in his hand.

"You look like you're gonna bite my hand off to get to the food," he says jokingly, putting the stuff in his hands down on the table, sitting down himself with a huff.

Yuya jokingly sticks out his tongue. "I don't like human meat, for the record."

He cringes back, giving him a wary look over the table. "What, you've eaten it before?"

"It's rare dragons eat humans nowadays, and I'm not one of them. I just know I wouldn't want to eat them." Yuya purses his lips in disgust. "It'd be kinda like cannibalism since I'm partly human and all."

"Huuuh, I see…" he says, pondering. It made sense, even if some animals would eat each other, it wasn't exactly a thing humans do. Normal ones, anyway.

Noticing Yuya was sitting quietly, fidgeting and glancing between him and the food, he waved a hand at the plate. "Go on, guests first and all."

Yuya stilled, looking embarrassed for a second before nodding. "O-ok."

He looked on as Yuya filled his plate with pancakes, eyes sparkling in anticipation and seeing what he almost thought was drool at the corner of his mouth. He grins as the other starts drenching his plate in syrup, busying himself with filling his own plate instead.

Putting a bite in his mouth and smiled at the taste, his poor stomach finally getting some food in it.

A thump-thump noise made him look up, only to let out a surprised snort.

Yuya had a look of utter bliss on his face, fork raised as he happily chewed on a bite big enough to make his cheeks fill out. Behind the table, he could see his tail, the source of the noise, wagging and hitting the floor. His joyed face shifted to confusion as his held back giggles escape from behind his hand. "What?"

"Nothing," he says, voice muffled. "You looked so happy just from eating pancakes, so I just..."

Yuya flushes, looking away and putting another forkful in his mouth. "It's really good, so…"

Yugo brightened at the praise, grinning at the other over the table. "What, it's good? Thanks! It took a lot of practice though, hehe," he laughs, rubbing the back of his neck. He'd burned many pancakes and ruined many batches of batter before he got them to be the golden brown colour they were today.

The talk died down as they continued to eat, so Yugo took the chance to glance up at Yuya, now that he was clean and getting something to eat. He looked much better already, once matted and tangled hair now clean and looking neater, despite his seemingly constant messy hairstyle. The dried blood and dirt were gone completely, letting his red and black scales shine in the light from the windows. His shoulders were a bit more relaxed, wings hanging loose and relaxed along with his tail.

He focused back on his plate when his stomach rumbled in protest as the food coming to it slowed down. He could think later when he's eaten.

* * *

"Feeling better?" he asked over the rim of his glass half-filled with juice, elbow on the table and head resting in his hand.

"Mhmm," Yuya mumbled, content, head cushioned by one of his arms on the table.

Their plates were pushed to the side after being cleaned off, Yugo felt the tiniest bit of pride at having all the pancakes he'd made eaten. His guest had been more starved than he was and he worried he hadn't made enough for a minute. But Yuya had pushed away his plate after devouring the last one, collapsing on the table and groaning over how full he was before he could ask if he should make more.

"You sure you didn't eat too much?" he teases, lowering his glass.

"No..." Yuya mumbles, moving his head to look at him. "I mean, maybe, but it's been a while since I've gotten to eat this much, nevermind it being this good."

That makes him frown, brow furrowing in worry. Thinking of it, he still had no clue why exactly Yuya had been laying in the forest, with a spike buried in his shoulder. That thing had been pretty high-class stuff, not something you just shot willy-nilly at monsters you needed to chase off.

Not that you could use just anything on dragons. They were notoriously tough, scales hard enough to make anything but first-rate weapons and equipment snap and break. Even if you did injure them, they could withstand a lot of blood loss and injuries, binding spells didn't do much either, snapping like dry crackers if you weren't very, very good and had the stamina to hold them.

He couldn't really connect what he'd heard and sometimes read about dragons with the one in front of him, laid on the table and groaning from eating too many pancakes.

Noticing how his other arm was hanging at his side and not on the table made him remember a very important thing.

"Hey, how's the shoulder?" He should have tended to that before they sat down to eat, shit.

Yuya looks at him, then sits up properly and lifts his borrowed shirt, something white peeking out near his shoulder. "I put a bandage on since it was bleeding a little."

That makes him snap to attention. "Bleeding? How much?"

"Uh," he cocks his head in thought. "Not much, but it ran in the shower. Burns a little."

"Tell me that sooner!" he shouts, making the dragon jump as he shoots to his feet and goes for a cupboard, opening it and pulling out the big medical kit inside and leaving it by the couch before zipping off to the kitchen for some hot water. He walked back over and sat down cross-legged next to the startled looking dragon, placing the bowl of water on the table. He points a finger at his shirt. "Strip."

Wide red eyes blink in confusion at him. "Huh?"

"Take your shirt off, I'm gonna look at your wound."

Yuya flounders some more while he frowns impatiently. When the dragon finally moves to remove the garment, Yugo heaves the kit up on the table and opens it, taking out some medicine, cloth and bandages.

"It doesn't hurt that much…" Yuya says, peeling away the makeshift bandaging and leaving it on the table.

Yugo frowns, looking at the injury. While it didn't look quite as bad as the night before, it didn't look _good_ by any means. The area around it was bruised, as was expected, the bleeding was a little worrying but not surprising, it was the light lines of runes running over the skin around it that worried him. "Lift your arm."

Yuya hesitates, looking away. He stares pointedly at him, impatiently tapping a finger against his leg. " _Yuya._ "

He sighs, and lifts his arm, only managing to get it a little more than halfway before flinching in pain, the limb shaking and the runes glowing slightly. It stopped when he lowered the arm again, letting out a relieved sigh.

Yugo gives him an unimpressed look. "Doesn't hurt that much?"

Yuya flinches and at least has the gall to squirm a little, smiling awkwardly. "When I don't move it too much, it's fine."

He huffs but doesn't say anything else. Dipping the cloth in the water, he set to wipe away the fresh blood running from the injury. Yuya sits still during the ordeal, with the occasional flinch or twitch when he got a little rough.

"Hey, Yugo?"

"Hmm?" he hums in response, focused on his task.

"I was just wondering, what do you do?"

He glances up, questioning. Yuya isn't looking at him, eyes peering around his living room, one of the tidier rooms in the house. It probably looked normal to most people, sans the weird decorations here and there. It had a TV, a bookshelf filled with movies and some books with recipes, crafting instructions and other stuff that he tried to keep on hand in case he forgot them.

"You're clearly not a normal human, but you didn't kill or capture me on sight despite the fact that I couldn't exactly do much." Yuya looks back at him as he finishes cleaning the blood off. "So, are you a Hunter?"

"Eehhh, sort of?" he says, leaning in closer to look at the runes running around the wound now that he could see them better, one hand grabbing a shoulder. They looked similar to the ones on the spike, but he'd had to look at it closer and compare them. "Hey, you said it burned, right?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah sort of. It feels kinda numb and cold… wait it's not poison is it?" Yuya asks, sounding worried.

"I don't think so." He draws his fingers over the lightly glowing runes, tapping his fingertips against them two times, tiny teal lights sparkling off them. He feels Yuya's wide-eyed staring at him, hopefully he wouldn't be thrown into the wall if the dragon thought he was doing something fishy. The runes he'd touched flicker and lose a little their glow. Yuya lets out a surprised gasp.

"Well, it's definitely not poison. I think that spike was made so its effects would transfer to whatever it's stuck in." He taps against them again, this time at another part. "I can weaken some of the effects, but I can't really make them go away faster, so you need to wait until they're gone completely. They could still be there even after the wound has healed up."

"Y-yeah," Yuya says above him, sounding dazed. "...You sure know a lot."

He glances up at him and smiles before going back to weakening the runes. "Kind of part of my job. I only go hunting when there are too few people or I'm needed for stuff involving my actual job."

He leans back after finishing, reaching for the medicine on the table and some swabs, running it over to keep infections out. "I make things, gear and machines, or stuff like the spike you had in your shoulder. Though something like that would take _so long_ to make, it'd cost a load of money if anyone wanted it. Protective charms, enchanting weapons or equipment, or applying runes."

"I see…" Yuya says, quiet. He puts away the medicine and starts wrapping up the wound. "So… you know what that thing did to me?"

His hands clench on the bandages in his hands when he remembered the letters. He frowns as anger swirls inside him again. "Pretty much, I'd have to look at it properly to make sure of everything, but I could make out some stuff. Like increasing pain, paralysis, burns, or," his hands slow down as he talks, but he forces them to continue their task, fastening the bandage, "...keeping you weak and docile."

"...Oh." Yuya's softly exhaled response told him enough. He may not be very perceptive, but even he could tell it was familiar, that it wasn't the first time those sort of effects had been used on him. He just hadn't known exactly how.

It made his blood boil.

Being forcibly made powerless, unable to fight back or respond, your body betraying you no matter what you do. Being too weak to fight, to talk back and not even able to say _stop it._

"You have no reason to get angry," Yuya says, trying to sound easygoing, but he had a pained look in his eyes when looked at him, the smile on his face brittle and it looked _wrong_.

"Of course I do!" he couldn't help but yell, making Yuya's eyes widen in surprise and lean back. His hand unconsciously clench into a fist as he yells. "That's not what runes are meant for! The thought of bastards that do the same thing I do using them like that makes me sick! And mad! And-!"

He cuts himself off, glancing at Yuya's now wrapped but still injured shoulder, thinking of when he found him in the woods, too injured to even move further. How hard had he had to struggle to even get there? How he'd been scared and hostile, still was when he woke up only to fall flat on his face minutes later. So different from the guy he'd seen happily eating pancakes, being grateful for a shower and getting a shirt to wear.

His jaw clench as his eyes sting and his eyesight starts to blur.

"Doing these kinds of things to you… it's not fair." He bites his lower lip to hold back the frustrated tears threatening to spill over.

He hadn't realised his hands were clenched so hard they were shaking until another one slowly, carefully, clasped one of them. The red and black scales, along with the human skin in a healthy peach colour, contrasted against his own pale skin.

"You don't even know what happened, yet…" Yuya's voice was low as he spoke. "Why would you get upset for me? You barely know me…"

"Does that matter?" he says, roughly wiping at his wet eyes with his free hand. "You went through some terrible shit, I can feel bad about it if I want to, right? Not like I can help it though, it just kinda happens."

Yuya quiets, head lowering so his face was hidden by his fringe. He leans forward, cheek settling against Yugo's shoulder, careful so his horns didn't hit his face. The warm breathing against his neck made him shiver.

"...I was captured," he said quietly, making Yugo tense up. He gripped the scaled hand still holding his back as the dragon tensed up, relaxed, breathed in and out.

"It was obviously planned, but like an idiot, I walked into it, because if I hadn't others could have gotten hurt. I fought for a long time, against mutated monsters and Hunters. As I started to get exhausted, I got hit with one of those, _things._ " The way he growled the word out didn't leave much room to think what he thought of them. He lets out a bitter laugh. "Right in the back too, it hurt a lot."

Yugo glances over his bare back, trying to spot a scar or old injury. His eyes finally land on a scabby looking area on his lower back, off to the side where the scales started to dwindle out into normal skin. It looked healed up at least, though the thought of something hitting him hard enough to pierce the scales and leave that kind of wound made an unpleasant shiver run down his back.

"I'm not even sure how long I was held captive. But one day I just sort of, snapped." His hand grips his tightly, shoulders tensing. "To say I went on a rampage may be a slight understatement, but I honestly don't remember much, and…" his voice hitches and he stops, breathing heavily.

He hesitated for a second, before placing his other hand on his head, fingers running through the red strands in what he hoped was a calming way. Yuya tenses at first, but soon lets out a big breath and relaxes against him, head becoming heavy against his shoulder, but he didn't mind much. He can feel his face heating up and resolutely ignores it. "Hey, deep breaths, and stuff. I think that's what you're supposed to do."

Yuya smiles against his shoulder, huffing out a laugh. "Sorry."

"Hey, it's heavy stuff, right? You don't need to tell me everything if you don't want to." Yuya's hair was surprisingly soft, and his scalp was weirdly rough, a little like the scales on his body, but less rough and hard. He glances up as something move in the corner of his eye, only to jump slightly as Yuya's wings unfold from his back and move to wrap around him, not close enough to touch him but enough for him to feel the warmth coming from the orange membranes. The hand still holding onto his move to lace their fingers together, squeezing his hand tightly, but not enough to hurt.

Sitting in this odd version of an embrace was actually incredibly embarrassing and Yugo was pretty sure his face was burning hot by now. It felt like it at least. But Yuya didn't seem to think anything of it and he seemed much calmer now, though his breathing sounded kinda weird…

His thoughts paused as he listened closer, fingers moving to lightly rub at the base of the horns. He watched in fascination as a shiver rippled through the dragon's wings and a groan-like sound came from him, tail twitching on the floor beside him.

"Dude, are you seriously purring?" He couldn't help but grin widely. A dragon, a species well known for their ability to destroy and sheer, raw power, was purring like a cat.

"Am not," Yuya says, sounding put off and embarrassed by the accusation. "If I am it's your fault."

"What, 'cause I'm petting your head?"

"Yes. And scratching at my horns, man that feels really nice…" he trails off into a relaxed sigh as Yugo rubs at the base a little harder. He laughs as Yuya rubs his face into his neck.

"Hey, that tickles," he laughs, the other rumbling in response, a noise that sounded like it came from deep in his chest. "I feel like we've gone way off track and lost the conversation."

He regrets saying anything when he feels Yuya tense up again, wings twitching and folding in a little further, almost brushing against his arms. The light from them cast his arms and shoulders in pale orange light. "You don't need to-"

"No. No, it's fine. I want, I want to tell you," Yuya says, finally lifting his head from its place on his shoulder, but doesn't move any further. He's smiling wryly. "There's not much else to say, anyway. When the haze I'd entered cleared enough for me to be aware of my surroundings again, the place was a serious mess and I wasted no time flying away. But that thing hit me straight in the shoulder, otherwise, I would have made it much further."

"Ah, so that's why you landed in the forest?" he asked, tilting his head.

Yuya nods, sighing. "I needed to land before I straight up crashed. When I saw a large forest in the distance, I figured it would do." He smiles. "Didn't expect someone to stumble upon me and help me out though."

Yugo smiles back, laughing bashfully. "Well, a cat I'd helped out earlier kinda insisted."

Yuya blinks. "Cat?"

"Yeah-" he's cut off by the sound of scratching, making both of them jump and look around for the source of the sound. Yugo's eyes land on the sliding glass doors behind Yuya.

"Ah!"

The cat daemon from yesterday sat on the other side, one large paw on the glass and staring at them. He saw it meow, pawing at the glass again, fluffy tail swishing behind it.

Yugo moves to get up, Yuya following up and moving his wings so he could walk over to the glass doors and slide them open, letting fresh air into the house. "Hey buddy, what are you doing here?"

It chirps as it moves inside, rubbing up against his leg and purring. He has to keep himself from letting out a loud laugh as the action reminded him of the dragon a bit too much.

The cat looked up at Yuya as he walked over. The two stared at each other in silence, and he was left to stare in confusion. Was some type of supernatural communication going on that a regular old human couldn't understand?

After what felt like ages, Yuya finally smiles softly, kneeling down. "So you were the reason he came to me?"

The cat chirped again, ambling forward and sitting down in front of the dragon. Yuya lifted a hand to scratch its head. "Thank you."

Yugo felt like he was missing something. "Uh, what just happened?"

Yuya just laughs, looking up at him. "It's pretty amazing you got this one to trust you to the point it felt secure to bring you to me when I was injured."

He looks down at the cat, then at Yuya again, running a hand through his hair in confusion. "I guess? I mean, I only got it out of the office building it had gotten stuck in. The jerks working for the same place I work under wanted to _burn_ him out, I couldn't sit and watch that happen."

Yuya's eyes narrow. "Hunters?"

He plops down on the floor as well. "Yeah. I tagged along cause they wanted an extra pair of hands. Neither of them ended up doing anything though," he smiles in glee just thinking back to their shocked faces. He goes to scratch at the cat's neck, it leaning happily into his hand. "You should have seen their faces when they came back to see this guy in my arms. He came out of the vent he was hiding in by himself, I just had to let him outside and that was that. Had to stay behind and be scolded on 'safety measures' and shit though."

Yuya just stares at him, lips parted and eyes wide in disbelief. Yugo fidgets under his gaze, feeling awkward the longer it goes on. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," he says, shaking his head. "You really should be careful though, or you could get hurt."

"Yeah yeah, whatever" he scoffs. "It's fine, I can take care of myself."

Yuya was about to say something else, but was interrupted by the cat meowing loudly, demanding their attention. It walked over to the opening and looked back at them.

"What's up?" He gets up and walks closer, the cat walking out the door and stopping on the porch. Yugo followed after, stepping out into the fresh air and taking a moment to breathe in the fresh air.

When he looked back, the cat was sitting by an object, something long and white…

He flinched as he stepped closer and recognised exactly what it was. He'd pulled the thing out of Yuya's shoulder the very night before after all. Bending down to pick it up, he could just make out the runes behind the dried blood.

"Did you bring this?" he asks the daemon, looking down at him. It chirps in response, tail swishing once behind it. Somehow, he knew for sure the cat had brought it here.

"Yugo?" Yuya calls behind him, hovering hesitantly at the door.

"You can come out, no humans for miles who can see you here." He turns to the dragon, keeping the spike hidden behind his back for now. He looks up at the sky, the sun shining down with barely any clouds.

Yuya still looks skittish as he steps out on the porch, but it's quickly replaced by a peaceful one as a nice breeze blew by and ruffled his hair. He stepped up next to him and took a deep breath, body relaxing as he let it out. "It really is a nice day…"

Yugo felt his tail touch his ankle as it curled loosely around his legs. Yuya's wings seemed to glow a little brighter now that he was outside. They stood in a comfortable silence for a while, just breathing.

"Is it too late for proper introductions?" Yuya suddenly said, glancing over at him and looking like he was glowing in the sunlight.

Yugo laughed, shoving at him a little with his hand. "Isn't it a little late for that?"

"It's fine, isn't it?" Yuya whines, pouting. He bounces back quickly though. He steps back to face him, Yugo doing the same. He smiles and holds out a hand. "I'm Sakaki Yuya! Nice to meet you."

' _So he does have a last name'_ , he couldn't help but think. He grinned back, grabbing Yuya's hand and shaking it.

"I'm Yugo Atlas, nice to meet you!"

Yuya quirks an amused eyebrow. "'Atlas'? Sure is an unusual name for someone living out in the woods by themselves."

Yugo cheekily sticks out his tongue in response. "It is a great last name, I'll have you know!"

They grin at each other, holdings hands for what was probably longer than necessary, before letting go and turning back to look out over the field and the sea of trees further away. Shifting in place makes him remember the object still hidden behind his back.

He frowns. Even if he'd rather not ruin the good mood the dragon was in, he didn't want to leave this for later either. "Uh, Yuya? The little guy brought something..."

He looks over at him in confusion, only to tense up and almost jerk back as he shows the spike. "Is that…?"

He nods, turning it over in his hands. "Yup, same one I pulled out of your shoulder. At least now I can find out what exactly has been done to you, I guess."

Yuya doesn't look away from it, body so tense he looked like he was about to start trembling any second.

So Yugo does the reasonable thing and throws the spike back into the house where they didn't have to look at it.

"Wha-?" Yuya lets out a surprised sound, looking back as the spike lands and bounces on the floor, then back to him. "Yugo?"

"We can look at it later!" he says resolutely, throwing out his arms and stretching. He grins wide over at the surprised-looking dragon, the wind pulling at his hair. "It's a nice day, so before we think of more unpleasant stuff, let's enjoy the fresh air!"

Yuya stares dumbfounded at him, a flicker of something passing by in the red pools before he smiled back and mimicked his pose. His smile gained a playful edge as he spread his wings wide. And wider. And even wider.

Yugo stared wide-eyed in wonder as his wings grew, the orange membranes growing bigger and longer. They glowed brighter, small particles of light bussing around them. The ones furthest out seemed to _part_ and what looked like solid fire came out of them, the fire going further and further up in the wings the closer down they were, the ones closest to Yuya's back seemingly made of it. It lit up the area around them, the glow turning a light red. They felt so massive this close, with one wing almost right behind him.

"...Cool," he couldn't help but whisper in amazement, unable to look away. His arms had fallen back to his sides without realising it.

Yuya looked him in the eye, and he sucked in a sharp breath as he saw how the redness now had a glow to it, a smidge lighter than his normal eye colour. They flickered and glowed like there was a brightly burning star in both of his eyes.

He smiles, looking at him with such soft and warm look in his red, glowing eyes it made his heart skip a beat. He couldn't help but tense up when Yuya took a step closer to him, wings lowering down as the one behind him almost curled around his body, soft warmth radiating off it.

"Hey, Yugo?"

"Y-yeah?" he cursed his stuttering and cursed Yuya for looking so collected while he was on edge from all the weird feelings and thoughts swirling around him

"You know how I said I would have made it further, if that thing hadn't hit me? And how I thought the forest would do?"

He nods, feeling confused over what Yuya was getting at. The look in his eyes and the wing curled over him was making butterflies erupt in his belly and he didn't know what to do with it.

Yuya's smile softens, looking out at the trees as his hand carefully grabbed hold of his again.

"I'm kind of glad it turned out this way." Yugo is taken aback by his words, but before he could ask, Yuya turned to look at him again and the almost affectionate, but still shy, look in his eyes quickly stopped him.

"Because if it hadn't, I wouldn't have gotten to meet you."

Blue eyes widen, as a bright red flush spread over his face. He quickly looked away from the crimson depths, his heart thumping in his chest like he had run a small marathon. This was weird, he shouldn't feel like this so soon, but still, it felt natural, comfortable.

He drew in a shaky breath and gripped the hand holding his back, feeling it squeeze his tighter in response. He had to take a moment, but soon he looked back at Yuya, who was waiting in anticipation for him to respond, but still had a twinge of nervousness present in his face.

It eased his nerves a little, knowing he wasn't the only one. He smiled shyly but earnestly back, face still burning.

"Me too. I'm glad I met you."


	3. Date?

**HI THERE yes It's been a disgustingly long time since I last updated this. I've just been going up and down in wanting to work on it and also getting distracted by other things, plus Miracle Force Magic takes up a lot of my fic planning headspace. Hopefully, the wait for the next chapter won't be quite so long**

 **Sorry for the long wait, hope you'll enjoy the chapter! ;v;**

* * *

Yuya had partaken in countless battles, been in situations he wasn't sure he would escape from in one piece numerous times, yet he had never been this nervous before. His hands were clenched over his crossed legs and fingers dug into the fabric of his borrowed pants, back slightly hunched as he never strayed his gaze from the person in front of him. He would have liked to be closer, but he had a hard time sitting still right now, leg bouncing and tail twisting behind him, so he sat on a stool a little ways away from the table in fear he would bump it. He probably resembled a gargoyle in this position.

Yugo's eyes don't move from the object in his hands, tongue poking out between his lips in a very distracting way while he works. He'd pulled out his work table from the wall so Yuya could sit on the other side, directly across from him as he worked.

Normally he wouldn't let anyone other than his closest friends touch his goggles, much less when they were broken. Yet Yugo still sat there, a flat screwdriver in one hand, carefully prodding the cracked glass of the goggles loose, held still against the work table by his other hand. His movements are gentle, like he was working on a valuable artifact or high-class weapon and not a pair of well-used eyewear.

Yuya wasn't sure what that made him. He'd rather not think about it right now.

"Aha!" Yuya jumps at the sudden noise. Yugo grins as he picks up the inner part of the eye, revealing the broken glass underneath in full. He carefully shook the goggles until the glass fell out onto the table in coloured shards before pushing them aside.

Yugo takes a pair of pincers and starts removing any pieces of glass still stuck. "Good thing I had the same type of glass lying around. It's sun protective, right? It's kind of a bitch to work with, but it's really useful. Protective against the sun and other bright light, but also hallucinations and other visual trickery, tough as hell too. What the hell even broke these to begin with…"

Yuya feels a small smile pull at his lips as Yugo rambles to himself as he works, putting small pieces of glass in a container next to him.

"I don't remember what broke it," he says lowly. Blue eyes give him a quick glance, hands pausing their movements until he's looking down at his work again. "I remember hearing a crack... but didn't have time to check until I was in the woods."

"Ah, I see." Yugo picks up the replacement glass he'd cut out earlier, checking to make sure it was the right size. He doesn't ask further and Yuya is grateful for it.

His tail snaps a little harder than before behind him. His healing wounds are itching under his bandages, but he refrains from trying to scratch at them. "Can… can you fix them?"

That was the question he desperately wanted the answer to, yet at the same time didn't. He felt like a child for being so upset at the mere thought of losing his goggles, as if a pit had formed deep in his stomach. They had never broken before, he had never even imagined them doing so, such a constant they had been. His head felt empty without them.

But Yugo had said he could fix them. He had scarcely believed it and hope had surged up before he could think to smother it. He'd found no deceit or lies in the human's eyes, just an earnest wish to help, so he had accepted before he could form doubts.

Yugo looks at him, a small grin forming over his lips. He picks up a bottle of glue, giving it a few rough shakes before uncapping it. "Don't worry, once I've got this glued on and it's had some time to set, they'll be good as new!"

Yuya felt a relieved smile form on his face, shoulders losing some of their tension. It wouldn't be completely gone until his headwear was back in their proper place, but it was a start.

Yugo finishes glueing and putting the parts together, pressing them together for a moment. Then he puts it back down on the table and places a big bottle on top, weighing it down and pressing the parts together.

Yugo nods sharply. "Now we wait!"

Yuya looks at him, brow furrowed. "Wait?"

"Yup. The glue has to dry properly if you don't want it to fall apart."

Red eyes turn back to the goggles on the table. "I don't."

Yugo laughs. "'Course not."

And so, Yugo got up from his seat to put away his tools. Yuya watches, still seated on his chair with his tail swaying slowly behind him. Yugo's quite spacious workshop was well-organised, in stark contrast to his bedroom. Containers of varying sizes with label stickers on them sat on shelves, but Yuya didn't know enough about this work to know what they were sorted by.

A big, complicated work table with wheels sat in the middle of the room, looking to be meant for bigger and more dangerous gear. A sort of engine sat on it currently, a work in progress from the looks of it. Up against the wall, something big was covered by a sheat, looking like a motorcycle by the shape.

The smaller one he sat at was made of sturdy wood and looked well-used, corners rounded and scratches and burn marks etched into the surface and sides. Even the ceiling was used for storage, things hanging from hooks and ropes, a small step ladder folded up in a corner to reach them.

He's snapped out of his observation of the workshop slash garage when the battering sound of a wooden chair being dragged over the floor sounds out next to him. Yuya looks over at Yugo, who had moved his chair to stand next to his, plopping down on it and grinning at him. "Since you don't seem to want to leave your precious goggles unsupervised, figured I'll keep you company."

Yuya flushes a little at being called out, inclining his head. "You don't have to..."

"I want to, so shut up," he says resolutely, crossing his legs on his chair in much the same way Yuya is sitting, their knees getting knocked together. Yuya ignores the fluttery feeling in his stomach from those words. And his tail definitely doesn't twitch happily at their close seating, or the way Yugo's nice, nice scent just barely reached him now. If he leaned a little he could be close enough to breathe in a whole mouthful and _god that sounded so creepy even in just his thoughts._

"Thanks," he ends up answering, voice almost a mumble. A small laugh comes as the response and his tail twitch again at the lovely sound. He didn't know why he had such a hard time holding on to his composure around this person. Even speaking at a normal volume was a hurdle sometimes.

He chances a glance to the side, startling when he sees Yugo is turned towards him. Then he notices the other isn't actually looking _at_ him, but further down and behind him.

Yuya experimentally raises his tail up towards his middle back and watches in amusement as Yugo's clear blue eyes follow the movement. He moves it down again, eyes following after it all the same. Moves it in a sweep over the floor, same thing. Yuya just barely holds back his laughter, biting the inside of his cheek.

Blue eyes follow it up, up and in between them where it hovers for a moment. The same eyes squeeze shut in surprise as the appendage move so the curled tip can give Yugo's nose a light tap.

Yugo blinks as the tail retracts. He finally looks at Yuya, who is smiling and stifling a laugh. "Is my tail that interesting?"

This time it's Yugo's turn to flush in embarrassment. He laughs sheepishly, scratching his cheek. "Sorry… I just thought the scales were pretty, so…"

Unnoticeable to anyone else, Yuya's expression turned stiff. _'Oh goddamnit-'_

"You can touch it if you want," he says without thinking, but by then it's too late to back down, not when Yugo's eyes light up like stars. The black and red tail move so it's draped over Yugo's lap.

Hands drop to touch it carefully, slender fingers running experimentally over the scales and spikes. Yugo felt out the texture, the difference between the tougher red scales on top and the softer, black leathery skin underneath. All with a fascinated glint in his pretty, pretty eyes and an excited smile over his soft-looking lips.

Yuya sat through the curious prodding and pressing and stroking with a pleasant smile on his face. In his head, however, he was going through a mild crisis.

' _This is obscene. Indecent. We're not in a courtship, nor involved romantically, yet I'm doing mating customs like it's nothing like some vulgar animal. Seriously what was with me, spreading my wings in that way earlier? To show off how 'big' I am? Disgusting. Zarc would be so disappointed.'_

Though Yuya still couldn't quite forget the captivated look in Yugo's eyes when he saw his fully unfolded wings.

He really had felt the need to stretch his wings. But unfolding them like that as if he was performing a mating ritual to impress the object of his affections was just crass.

Yugo, oblivious to Yuya's inner thoughts, focused on the tail resting in his lap. The scales were rough yet sleek in a way against his fingers, shimmering when the light hit them. The underside was still hard, but smoother, leaner, like a kind of leather. Better protection on the upside and weaker on the underside, pretty standard stuff. The spikes sticking out of the sides could be folded in and out, he noticed, pulling them back and forth gently. They kinda looked sharp enough to cut-

"Ow!"

Yuya jumps as his tail twitch at the sound as Yugo pulls away his finger at the stab of pain. Looking at it, he sees blood seeping out from a long, thin cut over his finger pad.

"What happened?" Yuya asks in worry, leaning closer to look.

"Ah, don't worry, I just got a small cut," he says irritably, waving his hand up and down as it stings, mentally berating himself for being careless.

"What?" Yuya snatches his hand faster than he could react, bringing it forward for him to look at. His brow screws up in concern.

"It's not a big deal. It was my own fault, not being careful enough with a dragon's tail," Yugo hurries to say.

Yuya doesn't say anything, only looking more concerned. He brings Yugo's hand up and-

Puts his finger in his mouth.

"Wha-?!" Yugo tries to screech but sputters off before he can finish as red hot embarrassment floods his body.

Yuya's mouth is warm. Very warm, like a small furnace. His tongue is wet and slippery like a normal human's, running over the cut as he licks away the blood and sucks gently. Blood red eyes framed by dark eyelashes are half-lidded, not quite looking at anything. Yugo flushes crimson as he can feel how Yuya's mouth moves as he swallows, fangs scraping over the skin without breaking it.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Yuya pulls away, lips dragging over his finger as he brings most of the stray saliva with him. The dragon meets his eyes as his tongue flicks out to give one final lick to the small cut.

Yugo stares mutely with wide eyes, face feeling like it was boiling. Yuya, meanwhile, is looking at his finger. "It should be good now. Be more careful."

"A-ah, y-yeah, sure. Sorry about that…" Yugo stutters out, pulling his hand back as Yuya lets go of it. Looking down, his eyes widen as he sees the cut has closed, leaving only a small line. The pain was completely gone as well.

"I can slightly heal wounds, more effectively if they were made by me. Usually some magic sharing or blood is best, but for small wounds, saliva is best," Yuya says, licking his lips and looking down at his tail, now folded over his own lap. "My foldable spikes can cause burns, but when I'm injured or weak it's hard to keep control of it."

"Huh... cool." Yugo mumbles, still feeling a bit thrown off and way too warm. He shakes his head to try and clear his thoughts, getting up from his chair to have something to do and not think about Yuya's mouth and tongue against his skin.

He catches sight of his work table and remembers what they were actually here for. Walking up and putting the bottle aside, he picks up the goggles and inspects them carefully. Testing that the glue has dried properly, the glass is put in the correct place, and that nothing is sticking out. Once satisfied, he nods and turns to Yuya, who's now watching him intently.

"I think they're done now," he says, handing them over to Yuya with a smile. "Try putting them on."

Yuya hurries to stand up and takes the eyewear, cradling them gently in his hands. He takes a moment to stare at the repaired glass, disbelief and happiness filling his face and eyes.

He puts them on, over his horns and placing them over his eyes, shielding them from view. His hands remain on them for a while before slowly withdrawing them. He stills, as if afraid they would fall apart the moment he let go of them.

"Do they feel okay?" Yugo asks, leaning forward eagerly and impatiently. "Anything that sits weird? Any stray glue that's sticking to your hair or face?"

Yuya shakes his head no. He doesn't say anything, tilting his head here and there. Then he lifts them off his head, placing them securely on his head, eyes closed when they're revealed again.

Yugo jumps as Yuya flies forward and suddenly wraps his arms around him. "Woah- !"

"Thank you," Yuya breathes against his shoulder, voice thick. His arms tighten around Yugo, pressing them close together in a warm embrace. Yugo can see the wings on his back tremble slightly. "Thank you so much."

Yugo stands still for a moment in surprise before hesitantly hugging him back. He awkwardly pats his back, feeling embarrassed and warm not just from the dragon's body heat. The arms around him are firm and their grip is tight, but not in a painful way. "You're welcome."

What sounded like a sniffle came from the dragon, and Yugo rubbed a comforting hand over his back and borrowed shirt, feeling some scales through the fabric. It was a little tight on him, and Yugo wasn't sure if it was because it was old and he'd grown out of it or because Yuya was bigger than him. His chest _was_ thicker- _nope_ _not going there._

Yuya takes a shaky breath before stepping back. His eyes are dry when Yugo can see them again and his smile is warm and grateful and Yugo's heart definitely didn't flutter. Especially not over how it's directed straight at him.

Yuya touches the goggles. "These… were a present from my dad. I got them years ago, and it's one of the two most precious things I own."

"Oh." Yugo's eyes widen slightly, looking at the eyewear (or was it more like a headwear?) with new eyes. He grins. "Glad I could fix them then!"

Yuya smiles and nods. Yugo then pauses and gives him a curious look. "Hey, if those are one of your precious things… where's the other one?"

As soon as the words left his mouth he balks. That was a bit too insensitive to ask, wasn't it?

But Yuya only smiles mysteriously, turning to look out the window. "Hmm, now that you mention it, it's about time to get that too."

Yugo gives him a confused look, but follows after as Yuya walks outside.

There was a breeze in the air that felt very refreshing after being inside the workshop. The sun peeked through the white fluffy clouds in the blue sky above.

Yuya walks around the corner and into his wide backyard, not minding the fact that his feet were bare as he walked across the wet grass. Yugo follows at a distance, hands in his pockets and wondering what he was up to.

"Did you drop it in the forest?" he calls out. "I'll help you look."

"Don't know where I lost it, to be honest," Yuya answers, looking around and humming in thought. He smiles and nods. "This should be good."

Yugo gives him a weird look, wondering if the dragon had hit his head a bit hard when crashing after all. He'd be surprised if he _hadn't,_ thinking about it. "Good what?"

Yuya looks at him over his shoulder and smiles cheekily. "Well, just watch from there."

Yugo stays silent as Yuya closes his eyes, seemingly concentrating. The wings on his back unfurl slightly, the veins starting to glow. A breeze blows by, pulling at their clothes and hair and pulling a few stray leaves with it.

Yugo quirks an eyebrow and looks around sceptically, wondering what they were waiting for. Gingerly, he walks a little closer so he can see Yuya better, leaning forward to try and see what he was doing. But his face was lax and eyes shut, revealing nothing.

The wind began picking up, seemingly swirling around Yuya, who pays it no mind. A sound that sounded like a ring echoed, so faint and soft Yugo barely caught it.

Yuya's wings stop glowing and he opens his eyes to look up at the sky, as if searching for something. Yugo watches in confusion as the dragon squints and held up a hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight.

He stops, lowering his hand. "Ah, there it is."

"Huh?" Yugo asks, feeling very lost.

Yuya holds out his hands in front of him, still looking up. Yugo tries to follow where his eyes are pointed at, squinting.

Something seems to glint in the sky. Yugo thinks it's the sun shining through the edge of a cloud. But then it almost seems to shimmer. And come closer.

A small object comes into view as it falls out of the sky ánd straight down to Yuya's waiting hands with near pinpoint precision.

Yugo blinks, eyes wide and trying to connect what just happened. The dragon is smiling happily, dangling the thing from his hand. It was a necklace, a light blue pendant hanging from a thin metal string. When he walks closer, Yugo can see white wings are wrapped around it, small spikes protruding around the top where the string was attached. With how it was hanging from a sole string that went up into a proper necklace shape…

"It's a pendulum," Yuya says, startling Yugo from where he was staring at the piece of jewelry. The dragon smiles gently at it. "I've had it for as long as I can remember."

"Uh… huh," Yugo says slowly. "Sooo, why did it fall out of the sky?"

"I can call it to me if it's far away," Yuya said it like it was the most normal thing in the world. "And I know where it is if I'm not wearing it."

"...Cool."

Yuya seems to find this funny, laughter spilling from him. "Is that your only reaction? 'Cool'?"

Yugo pouts, almost feeling a bit offended. "Is there something else I should say?"

"Oh, I dunno," Yuya shrugs his shoulders with a grin. "'That's weird', or 'That seems dangerous', or 'Oh man, that's so cool, Yuya, just like you!'"

Yugo shoves at his shoulder as the dragon laughs, a similarly amused grin on his own face. "Ha! You, cool? Try a more believable one next time!"

"Hey, I am _totally_ cool," Yuya says, mock offended. "Dragon's are among the coolest creatures alive, I'll have you know!"

"Just being a dragon doesn't make you cool!" Yugo snickers.

Yuya slumps over-dramatically, clutching his chest. "Oh, Yugo, your words, they hurt me…!

Yugo laughs, Yuya soon joining in as he puts the pendulum back on, the stone falling into place on his chest like it had always been there. He pats it, a gentle expression on his face. Now, there's a calm air to him, as if things are back to normal and he can relax.

There was one thing though…

"You know what?"

Yuya gives him a curious look, but Yugo isn't looking at his face, instead sweeping his eyes over Yuya's figure and back up.

"You need clothes."

* * *

Finding clothes for non-humans wasn't as hard as it once was. Now, even bigger branches sold pants for people with tails, though actually trying to match their tail size to their pant size was a big complaint apparently. Something about how just because you had a small size didn't mean your tail was thin too. Yugo didn't keep up with that stuff, he wasn't very interested in fashion.

Yuya's tail wasn't that large, but not on the overly thin side either. So any brand store that Yugo couldn't shop at anyway if he wanted to afford both food and materials for work was out.

Shirts and jackets was another problem. Sure, Yuya could apparently hide his wings somehow (how did that even _work?_ ) and didn't direly need holes for them, he had admitted that going around like that for too long got uncomfortable.

"Yugo, this really isn't necessary-"

"I'm not sacrificing more shirts to you and I'm not letting you have just a single shirt to wear. Also wearing my pants with a tail can't be comfortable."

"Well, they do hang a bit low…"

"Then stop whining and pick something."

Yuya still looks miffed but starts to shift through the racks of clothes, grumbling a little but doesn't say anything else. He's borrowed a pair of Yugo's work boots to fit his now more human-looking feet into and his wings have been tucked away, the holes in the back of his shirt hidden by one of Yugo's hoodies. He looked… surprisingly good, even with Yugo's kinda ratty clothes on.

He'd suggested putting away his horns and tail too, but Yugo hadn't seen the point if they were going to buy pants for tailed people anyway.

Yugo's trying to find tops with wing openings when his gaze gets stuck on a jacket, hanging on the wall. He walks closer, lifting a hand to touch the white, soft leather-like material. The sleeves are made of a soft, thick cotton, and when he slips a finger into the sleeve, the inside is stupidly soft. Around the elbows ran two thick stripes of red, and a pattern in the shape of a very thick V in blue sat on the chest area.

He needed a new jacket, he knew he did. The one he was wearing right now was close to falling apart and had gotten multiple holes and tears he'd fixed up himself over the years. But he chanced one look at the price tag and knew right away it wouldn't work. Getting Yuya stuff was way more important right now.

"Yugo?" He jumps as Yuya's voice appears right behind him.

"Woah!" He whirls around to see the dragon looking at him curiously. He hadn't even heard him walking up. "What's up? Found something?"

"Not yet, you just kinda wandered off so…" Red eyes trail from Yugo to the jacket behind him. "Cool jacket."

Yugo jerks. "Y-yeah, I guess."

"You wanna buy it?"

Yugo shakes his head, taking a reluctant but firm step away from the garment. "No, I'm fine. I don't need anything."

Yuya furrows his brow and Yugo knows he's looking at his clothes, the pants with patched up holes and threads sticking out of them, his washed-out shirt with a frayed hem and his jacket that's barely keeping itself together. He _knew_ , didn't mean he liked it.

He turns to walk away, resolutely not looking at the jacket. "You didn't find anything here, right? Let's try somewhere else, I'm starting to get hungry."

"Yugo," Yuya starts to say with a gentle but firm voice, moving to stand in front of him and stop him in his tracks. He jolts to a halt, pinned in place by the firm crimson orbs on the dragon's face. "You-"

"Well well, if it isn't Yugo! What a coincidence running into you here!"

They both jump at the boisterous voice ringing out in the store, taking a step away from each other on instinct. Looking over, Yugo sees a familiar figure standing at the entrance of the shop. "Sawatari?"

"The one and only!" Sawatari Shingo smirks in a way that's his form of a friendly smile and waves his hand in greeting, walking up to them. "I'm just out for some errands, and to think I'd spot you in the wild in this type of business, can't blame a man for being curious." Eyes that's a mix of silver and violet drift to Yuya, looking the dragon up and down. "And who is your companion?"

"Sakaki Yuya," the dragon answers with a friendly smile and holds out a hand. "Nice to meet you."

Shingo eyes him for a moment longer, before taking the offered hand and giving it a firm shake. "Likewise." The man's gaze hops between them, looking curious. "Are you two possibly… on a date?"

"Wha-?!" Yugo yelps in surprise, eyes widening. "W-what makes you think that?! We're not!"

Sawatari eyes him dubiously, hand on his chin. "Really? You were standing awfully close and casual when I got here… You best not be hiding something so important as a romantic partner from me, your dearest friend Sawatari Shingo."

Yugo punches him good-naturally on the shoulder, cheeks pink but smiling still. "As if! I don't have anything like that. We're just here to buy clothes for Yuya."

Sawatari, while rubbing his shoulder, pauses and turns his eyes back on the dragon, who's watched their conversation silently on the side. "Now that you mention it, he makes a sad sight."

Yuya jumps. "H-hey!"

"Because of… reasons, he's staying with me for a while, but he doesn't have anything to wear. Haven't found anything yet though."

"I see, I see, that is a shame!" Sawatari gripes, flicking his hair back dramatically. He snaps his fingers. "Well, you're in luck! Now that the great Sawatari Shingo, fashion extraordinaire, is here, there is nothing to worry about!"

"Hah?" Yugo says, eyebrow raised. Yuya is blinking next to him, face blank and bewildered.

"No no, no need to thank me, just helping a friend in need!" Sawatari promptly walks behind them, lays a hand on each of their shoulders and pushes them forward. "First off: Getting out of this shop. It has nice stuff, but lacking in items for folks with tails."

"Yuya's got wings too. He's just hidden them."

Sawatari doesn't seem to think anything of that, simply stepping forward once they're out of the store and back into the mall. He walks ahead as if expecting them to follow. "No problem, I know just the place!"

Yuya finds his gaze, looking between him and Sawatari's retreating back with a confused look. Yugo grins. "Don't worry, Sawatari's a good guy."

Yuya doesn't look entirely convinced, looking doubtfully at the other man. "I guess he looks harmless enough."

Yugo can't help but let out a snort. "Wait until you see him in a good fight."

Wide red eyes turn quickly to him. "Wha-?"

"Hurry up, you two! We don't have all day!" Sawatari calls loudly, having made it some ways from them and making people look at him.

"Sorry!" Yugo calls back. He grabs Yuya's arm and starts to pull him along. "Well, don't worry so much. Sawatari knows this stuff way better than me."

Yuya doesn't say anything in response, letting himself be pulled along. Slit eyes drift down to where Yugo's hand was wrapped around his wrist, feeling a weird tingle inside at the thought of clasping the cool hand in his own.

* * *

"Don't you dare."

Yugo bites down on his lower lip. Yuya narrows his eyes threateningly, as if daring him to make a sound and it somehow only makes it harder to resist.

"D-don't worry-snrk," he stumbles out, barely keeping his composure. "You look great. Promise."

Yuya raises an unimpressed brow, not buying his words for one second. They weren't very convincing anyway. His eyes, with their slight glow and slit pupils, peek out from under the dark trilby sat on his head, horns sticking out from the top through the holes made for them.

Sawatari's decision to put the dragon in a _suit_ of all things first was odd, but he had left little room for argument, pushing Yuya into the dressing room while talking about 'testing' before disappearing, leaving Yuya with little to do but try it on and Yugo to wait outside the changing rooms. It was a stupidly fancy one too, a whole corner with a bunch of seats and round, hollowed circle of cushions in the middle and a giant mirror that covered the whole wall.

Yuya fiddles with the jacket, pulling at the cuffs and tugging at the button-up shirt. He looked so uncomfortable Yugo would have felt bad for him, if he wasn't busy trying not to burst into laughter. He bites the inside of his cheek, shoulders starting to shake and fingers tapping on the goggles resting in his lap to distract himself.

The dragon looks at him with an annoyed look, tail swinging back and forth behind him. Then he lets out a loud sigh and snaps out his arms, making the crimson red shawl hung over his shoulders and down his front flap up in the air. He angles his body to the side in a pose, tilts the hat down until only one of his eyes are visible and then points two fingers at Yugo like he was holding a gun.

"If you're not careful, I'll aim for your heart too, little kitten," he says in a deeper and overly theatrical voice, complete with a playful wink and smirk.

Yugo loses it. He snorts so hard it hurts before he descends into rapid laughter. He holds his stomach and falls over on his side on the cushioned chair he sat on as he laughs to where it gets hard to breathe.

Yuya has a pleased smile on his face, flicking the hat up in satisfaction.

"Didn't you _not_ want me to laugh?" Yugo asks between gasping and snickers, tears in the corner of his eyes.

"It's okay if I _meant_ for you to laugh," Yuya says, crossing his arms across his chest. "Glad I haven't lost my touch."

Yugo sniggers some more, pushing himself back to a sitting position and wiping the tears from his eyes.

Yugo would be stupid to say Yuya looked _bad_ , the tie a bit darker than his eyes and the black somehow both making him look slimmer and showcasing the strong set of his shoulders. But at the same time, he looked _awkward_ in it, like he'd rather be anywhere else than here and would rip the garments off the first chance he gets. And that hat just looked stupid on him.

"Your hat is stupid."

Yuya doesn't object, flicking it with his finger. "I feel stupid wearing it." He threads it off his horns and flicks it over to the round sofa, leaving his head bare. Fingers run through the strands of flattened hair, tousling them up once more.

"Guess dragons don't wear suits often?"

"Do _you_ wear this stuff often?" Yuya asks with a raised brow.

Yugo's brow furrow. "Good point. But I've also never worn a button-up shirt in my life, much less a damn monkey suit."

Yuya snickers. Sawatari chooses that moment to make his return, followed by a poor clerk whose arms were close to overflowing with clothes.

Sawatari pauses as he spots Yuya, eyes narrowing as he stares silently. "That does not suit you at all."

Yuya shrugs. "I told you it wouldn't."

"It was just a test run," Sawatari says with a wave of his hand, turning back to the clerk. "Oh, thank you for your work. Just put that on the sofas."

"Yes sir," the poor lady sighs, dumping the load in relief. Yugo gives her an apologetic look, and she flashes a quick smile at him before stepping back. "If there's anything else, don't hesitate to come to us."

"Thanks," Yugo says in place of Sawatari, who's already begun sorting through the pile, muttering to himself. The clerk nods before walking away.

"Aha!" Sawatari says as she straightens up, making Yuya and Yugo jump. He thrusts out a set of clothes to the dragon. "Try these on."

Yuya hesitantly takes them and goes back into the changing room, drawing the curtain closed behind him.

"Did you really need to get so much stuff?" Yugo asks, looking at the small mountain in disbelief.

Sawatari tsk's at him. "Having a multitude of options is ideal!"

Yugo wasn't sure how that applied to that situation, but Yuya stepped out before he could think to ask.

The dragon tugged dubiously at the red, high-collared sweater. It had no sleeves, showing off his toned arms and the scales dotting them and the dark pants were a slim fit.

"Well?" Sawatari says, crossing his arms with his hand holding his chin. "It looks pretty good, but I need a verdict from the wearer."

Yuya thinks for a moment, looking at himself in the mirror. "Shirts collar is too tight and high, I don't really like that."

"Hm-hm, loose neckline it is then, yes that will be fine," Sawatari mutters to himself.

"And I like baggy pants," Yuya continues, turning back to them. He bends his knees and raises his legs experimentally. "Something sturdy and easy to move in. With pockets."

"Pockets are useful." Yugo nods in agreement.

Sawatari holds up another pair of pants. "Alright, let's see what we can come up with."

"And uh," Yuya starts hesitantly, scratching his cheek. "I like colours. Not that fond of black."

They blink. Then, Yugo smiles a small grin.

"Yeah, I can see that."

Yuya looks taken aback, but then smiles warmly. Both miss Sawatari glancing inquiringly at them.

* * *

Sawatari slurps on his drink, leaning back in his seat with one arm thrown over the backrest. The food court they sat in was busy, but not to where they felt like sardines. The table they all sat around filled with different food from all the food shops around the seating area. "Quite a successful trip I must say! Aren't you two glad you ran into me?"

Yuya and Yugo share a look over a cup and churro respectively, thinking of the filled to the brim shopping bags sat under their table.

In the end, they left the store with four shopping bags, filled with replacement clothes, underwear and some sleepwear, despite Yuya's hesitance. But Sawatari wouldn't be dissuaded from more and Yugo had too until he'd pointed out it'd be nice if Yuya had some pyjamas and underpants of his own before he caved.

"Well, we got a lot," Yuya adds, leaning back to look at their bags. " _A lot_."

"Just because you're a guy doesn't mean you should slack on your dressing!"

And Yuya hadn't, really. He had a baggy pair of green pants on, an orange shirt with sleeves going down to his middle arms, wristbands on each wrist and a slick, white jacket over his shoulders, held in place with a button over his collarbone. The jacket also hid the hole in his shirt. And on his feet sat a pair of brand new shoes, comfortable and sturdy enough for his scaled feet.

Yugo finishes chewing and swallows, the food heavy as it goes down his throat. He fiddles with a napkin. "Hey, Shingo, thanks for this, seriously."

The earnest tone seems to catch him off-guard for a second before he regains some composure. "D-don't mention it! It was a mere whim on my part for a friend, nothing special!"

"I'll pay you back-"

"Nonsense!" Sawatari quickly says with a wave of his hand. "This was my choice, nothing to do with you! I just couldn't let Yuya stand near me looking like such a sad sight!"

Yugo's expression turns troubled. "But-"

"No buts! It's no issue whatsoever!"

Yuya watches silently as Yugo looks agitated while Sawatari is resolutely not looking at him, until Yugo slumps with a sigh and picks up a fry to nibble on. "Thanks…"

Sawatari brightens immediately, puffing out like he's won a battle once again, and Yuya gets the feeling this is a reoccurring incident.

"Honestly though, thank you so much, Sawatari," Yuya says, breaking the silence and making the other two turn to him. He smiles gratefully. "You've been a great help."

Sawatari doesn't seem to know how to handle that, turning flustered. "B-but of course! The great Sawatari Shingo is glad to lend a hand!"

Yuya smiles, drinking more of his milkshake. The cold ice cream felt like a special treat, now that it had been so long since he'd last eaten… anything of worth. Having his stomach be full with good food was an odd feeling, and he couldn't help but feel immensely grateful for the space he'd ended up crashing in.

He finds his eyes drifting to Yugo, who's now caught up in a conversation with Sawatari.

Really, truly grateful.

"Anyway, it's a good thing I ended up running into you." Yuya snaps out of his thoughts. Sawatari puts down his cup. "I wanted to talk to you about an upcoming mission."

Yugo eyes him suspiciously over his strawberry milkshake, Yuya momentarily getting distracted over his lips wrapped around the striped straw. "I'm not a member of Leo Corp."

"I know! But this is a weird one." Shingo dips a fry into a dip. "Reports of people disappearing in an old mansion have come in. Previously, only odd but harmless incidents have happened, so they weren't reported, but now people's lives are involved and things have gotten serious."

Yugo stiffens slightly at the explanation, though Yuya can't figure out why. "So, they're sending you to check on a haunted house?"

"Me, Shun and Yuto." Yugo's face immediately sours and Sawatari hurries to add. "I know, I know! You three don't get along! But hear me out: They're not arriving until later, I'm coming earlier to check things out and see how the situation looks. Since I'm a bit easier for people to meet first."

"You can say that again…" Yugo mutters and Yuya wonders just what kinds of people this Shun and Yuto were and what relationship they had for Yugo to be this adverse to them. "So, what do you want with me?"

"Can you come with me?" Yugo turns surprised. "You're the best I know when dealing with barriers and pocket dimensions, and that stuff is usually involved when dealing with ghosts or hauntings. Having you there would be really reassuring."

Yuya can see Yugo flush slightly at the compliments. "I-I'm not _good_ at it exactly, I just know how to break them…"

"That's good enough! Just some back-up, and of course you'll be paid!"

Yugo wrestles with the offer for a moment longer, before sighing. "Sure. Take it as a type of repayment for today."

"Can I come along too?" Yuya pipes up, two sets of surprised eyes turning to him. "I'm pretty good at fighting, I can hold my own."

Plus he really wanted some exercise. Badly.

"I can imagine." Yugo thinks to himself for a moment, arms crossed. "Don't see why not. So long as you don't strain yourself."

Yuya brightens up. He smiles warmly. "Thank you, Yugo."

Yugo flushes slightly pink, and it was such a lovely colour on his pale skin. Bright blue eyes look away from crimson red. "It's not such a big deal."

Sawatari looks at them with a slightly exasperated look, leaning his hand on his chin.

"'Not on a date', he says," he mutters lowly to himself without anyone hearing him.


End file.
